Ronaldo responded by breaking the deadlock to put Real on the path to victory, and helped complete the win by laying on the assist for Rodriguez to score just his sixth goal of the season.
The Real manager, Zinedine Zidane, admitted afterwards that he expects Ronaldo to be spurred on by the boos rather than affected negatively, given his type of character and desire to win.
“It will only motivate him,” Zidane told Spanish television network TVE. “The important thing is that every time Cristiano is on the pitch he wants to score and he keeps doing it.”
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has warned fans to “think” before they boo Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese was jeered during their 2-0 Champions League victory over Roma on Tuesday night, despite opening the scoring.
Real struggled to cope with their Italian opponents throughout the first half as head coach Luciano Spalletti set his side out to attack in the hope of overturning the 2-0 last-16 first leg deficit.
Wasteful finishing would cost Roma though as they spurned the chance to go ahead on the night and goals from Ronaldo and James Rodriguez ensured Real reached the quarter-finals courtesy of a 4-0 aggregate victory.
Ronaldo could have had more than one goal though, having missed a few chances in front of goal – one glaring opportunity saw him hold his head in his hands after he missed a one-on-one chance with Roma’s on-loan Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny from no more than 10 yards out.
Some fans in the Santiago Bernabeu were quick to turn on the 31-year-old – who took his season tally to the 40-goal mark – and booed him when he received the ball after the miss, much to the surprise of his team-mate Ramos.
“I would tell the fans to think a little first,” Ramos told reporters after the match. “I respect them but when things don’t go well they should support their players because we all want the best for Real Madrid.
“He’s a historic player for Real Madrid, he keeps proving that year after year, look at what he’s achieved.
“When the fans at the Bernabeu boo you it is because they want to transmit their demands to you, they want to push us and see the best performance from us,” he added.
