Champions League: Tottenham 0 Real Madrid 1

Heurelho Gomes’ howler allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to score and help Real Madrid beat Tottenham 1-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Spurs were always facing an impossible task after losing 4-0 in the first leg at the Bernabeu but they were hoping to go out on a high in front of their own supporters.

But Gomes made a crucial blunder early in the second half when he failed to hold onto a swerving shot from Ronaldo, and it was another easy night for Jose Mourinho’s side.

Tottenham may have gone out of the competition but it has been an amazing journey for the north London club in their first season in the Champions League and they worked miracles of their own to reach the last-eight following victories over both AC and Inter Milan.

Redknapp said his team needed a miracle to claw their way back into the tie but they started brightly and had strong claims for a penalty turned down after just three minutes.

Gareth Bale broke into the box and was adjudged to have been brought down by Xabi Alonso, but Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli ignored the strong pleas from the home fans.

Bale was involved in the heart of the action once again on six minutes when he raced past Sergio Ramos into the area and saw his cross parried away by Iker Casillas. Luka Modric went down inside the area, but the referee waved away the penalty claim.

Tottenham had another strong call for a penalty turned down on 27 minutes when Roman Pavlyuchenko went down inside the box following a challenge with Raul Albiol. Replays showed there was a case for the home side, but Rizzoli waved for play to continue.

Despite holding a strong advantage from the first leg, Real Madrid were determined to maintain their unbeaten run and almost took the lead on 37 minutes when Sergio Ramos saw his looping header produce a fine one-handed save from Gomes.

Tottenham finally had the ball in the back of the Real Madrid net on 38 minutes as Bale’s shot beat Casillas but Modric, involved in the lead-up play, was standing in an offside position.

Despite all the dominance from the home side in the first half, it was Real Madrid who opened the scoring on 50 minutes and it was a moment for Gomes to forget.

The Tottenham keeper produced a major blunder when he allowed a 25-yard shot from Ronaldo to slip through his hands and the ball deflected over the line, despite his desperate attempt to scoop out the bouncing, goal-bound ball.

The goal sealed Real’s passage through to the semi-final stage of the competition and it was harsh luck on Tottenham who deserved to be in front.

Another great chance fell for Tottenham to level things up on the night on 58 minutes when Pavlyuchenko was completely free inside the box but he flashed a close-range header over the bar.

Real Madrid went searching for more goals and substitute Kaka almost scored with his first touch on 66 minutes when his shot was palmed away by Gomes.