Cristiano Ronaldo Will Propel Real Madrid Past Borussia Dortmund

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will use the boos directed at him from the Bernabeu crowd on Saturday as fuel when Los Blancos take the pitch against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League quarterfinals this April.

In one of the more surprising happenings this season, Ronaldo was met with whistles from the home crowd during Real's 5-0 thrashing of Rayo Vallecano over the weekend. More so a sign of frustration after falling behind in the La Liga title race, the jeers have no doubt added to Ronaldo's motivation ahead of Wednesday's first leg against Dortmund.

Ronaldo certainly has the support of his teammates and his coaching staff.

According to Radio Anch'io Sport (h/t ESPN FC), manager Carlo Ancelotti hasn't hid the fact that he's confident in his 29-year-old leader and squad overall:

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Real is the most complete team I have coached...Besides great champions like Cristiano Ronaldo, I have so many young promising players as well as experienced ones. I want to highlight the fact that this season not only [Gareth] Bale arrived, but also five players from the youth team.

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Unsurprisingly, Ancelotti had his star's back following Saturday's match.

"I understand booing every now and then when we have deserved it, but at the moment the players are making a great effort," he told Marca's Isaac Suarez. "We have to keep at it and we need everybody's help. But booing Cristiano is not so easy to understand."

Despite Real's struggles to keep up with rivals Atletico Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga, Ronaldo has remained an unstoppable offensive force, scoring goals and creating numerous chances for others.

Opta Sports highlighted his recent form, which has included at least one goal in each of his last nine outings with Los Blancos and a brace on three of those nine occasions:

Although he was held to only one goal in each of Real's two most recent losses to Barca and Sevilla, his production in Champions League play this season has been eye-popping to say the least, as he has 13 goals and three assists through seven matches. 

In the round of 16 against Schalke, Ronaldo was at his absolute best, scoring four goals and assisting on another and posting match ratings of 10 and 9.8 in the first and second leg, respectively, according to WhoScored.com.

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Dortmund are sure to put up more resistance defensively, but there'll be little standing in the way of Ronaldo continuing his red-hot tear against European opposition.

And with so much attention being paid to the Portuguese star in the final third, other Real players are sure to benefit. 

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

With Dortmund relying heavily on star striker Robert Lewandowski, who will miss the first leg because of suspension, the German side are unlikely to be able to keep pace with a Real squad that has picked apart their previous Champions League foes.

Sure, the club's recent hiccups don't bode well for their domestic championship chase, but on a positive note, they'll more than likely serve as a timely wake-up call for a squad that had seemingly forgotten how to lose. 

Dortmund may be the Cinderella playing with nothing to lose, but Ronaldo and Real will be out for revenge after last year's semifinal debacle—not to mention the reigning FIFA Ballon d'Or winner is playing lights-out football on the Champions League stage, now just a handful of goals away from a record-setting performance. 

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