( CNN ) -- Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner as Real Madrid beat 10-man Manchester United 2-1 Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League 3-2 on aggregate after a pulsating match which turned on the controversial dismissal of Nani just before the hour mark . United had just gone ahead on the night through a Sergio Ramos own goal when the Portugal midfielder attempted to control a high clearance from his defense . But Nani 's foot was high and his studs caught Real 's Alvaro Arbeloa in his midriff as he moved forward to intercept the ball . Turkish referee Cuneyt CakÄ±r then stunned the Old Trafford by showing a red card to Nani as he recovered from the collision . Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson charged down from his touchline seat to protest and as Nani eventually parted the field he was given a consolation pat by Real manager Jose Mourinho . It was the cue for Real , who had offered little in attack until then , to press forward and the man advantage soon paid in the 66th minute . Substitute Luka Modric found space outside the penalty box to unleash a curling and unstoppable shot past David de Gea , the highlight for sure of the Croatian 's stuttering progress with the Madrid giants since his summer signing . Two minutes later and United 's worst nightmare was complete as old boy Ronaldo , relatively quiet until then , connected with Gonzalo Higuain 's clever cross to score at the far post . Ronaldo pointedly did not celebrate but his goal was decisive , meaning United had to score two more to progress . How Real Madrid won . They made a brave fist of it , Real goalkeeper Diego Lopez having to produce fine saves from Michael Carrick , Robin van Persie and Nemanja Vidic . Wayne Rooney , surprisingly left out of the United starting line up , also hooked a chance over , but at the other end fellow substitute Kaka rattled the home woodwork . At the end it was Real who were celebrating but Mourinho showed some surprising modesty in victory . `` The best team lost , independent of the sending off , '' he told ITV Sport . `` We did n't deserve to win and did n't play well . '' Ferguson refused to attend the post-game press conference , because he had been left `` very distraught '' by Nani 's dismissal , according to his assistant Mike Phelan . `` It was a great performance marred by the wrong decision , '' added Phelan . Ronaldo had received a warm welcome from home fans on his return to Old Trafford , while Ferguson sprang a surprise with the omission of Rooney , giving starts to 39-year-old Ryan Giggs , playing his 1,000th game for club and country , Nani and Danny Welbeck . It was Welbeck who shone in the opening half , with his darting runs causing the Real defense constant problems . He nearly scored on the follow up as Vidic 's header hit the post and was later denied by Lopez again . The second half also started promisingly for United and it was Welbeck 's flick which was deflected past Lopez by the unfortunate Spanish international Ramos in the 48th minute . His goal won the El Clasico clash against Barcelona Saturday , but once Nani had departed it did not take long for his teammates to be celebrating again and their fine recent run continues . In the night 's other last 16 tie , Borussia Dortmund beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 to progress 5-2 on aggregate . After a 2-2 draw in Ukraine three weeks ago in the first leg , the German champions were always on top through goals by Felipe Santana , Mario Goetze and Jakub Blaszczykowski . Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp is bidding to emulate the achievement of the 1997 side who won the Champions League but is guarding against optimism . `` There are still lots of strong teams in the competition , '' he told gathered reporters `` We are just delighted with the result and I am proud of the team . '' `` The whole Champions League campaign has gone like clockwork and this was an unbelievable 90 minutes from us . ''
Real Madrid beat 10-man Manchester United 2-1 . Nani controversially sent off just before the hour mark . Goals from Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo for Real . Comment: