Ronaldo nets contentious hat-trick as Real Madrid reaches semi-finals again

At this point, we should probably just pencil Real Madrid in for the Champions League semi-finals before the competition begins. Even if it takes some questionable officiating to get there.

The Spanish behemoth booked its place in the final four of the competition for the seventh straight season on Tuesday, a contentious 4-2 victory over Bayern Munich in extra time - powered by a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick - giving Los Blancos a 6-3 aggregate triumph.

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Hungarian official Viktor Kassai will garner much of the attention in the aftermath of the enthralling encounter, which saw a penalty awarded for an apparent dive, Casemiro escape a red card, Arturo Vidal get shown a questionable second yellow, and Ronaldo hit the back of the net with a pair of offside goals in extra time that were allowed to stand - and, ultimately, decide the tie.

Related - Look: Ronaldo puts Real Madrid into semis with 2 offside goals

It was, in a word, eventful.

"Madrid were the better team, no doubt about that," Ronaldo told reporters after the match. "To score six goals against Bayern is not easy, and we deserve it.

"We are just winners."

Of that, there's no doubt.

Madrid, looking to become the first club in the modern era to win back-to-back Champions League titles, dominated the 30-minute extra period, as 10-man Bayern simply ran out of gas.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Bayern led 2-1 when Vidal was shown an exceedingly harsh second yellow card for what looked to be a perfectly fine tackle in the 84th minute, and in the extra stanza, Los Blancos took over.

Ronaldo found the net in the 104th and 109th minutes - thus becoming the first player to ever hit the 100-goal mark in the tournament - and while Bayern will feel aggrieved knowing both strikes should have been erased for offside, there was no such issue with Marco Asensio's 112th minute effort to cap a wild night in the Spanish capital.