Champions League talking points: Real Madrid and Wolfsburg win

Real Madrid and Wolfsburg became the first teams in this season's Champions League to progress to the quarter-final stage.

Ten-time European champions Real booked their place in the last eight with a straightforward, yet unconvincing, 2-0 victory over Roma at the Santiago Bernabeu, going through 4-0 on aggregate.

It was an historic night for Bundesliga hopefuls Wolfsburg as they reached the quarter-finals for the first time in their history, overcoming Gent 4-2 on aggregate after a 1-0 second-leg victory at the Volkswagen Arena.

Here, Sky Sports discusses five talking points after another night of European action...

Bale looks bright on return

The Welshman, who made a goalscoring return against Celta Vigo at the weekend, featured from the start for the first time since picking up a calf injury on January 17, and lasted just over an hour in a lively outing.

He looked bright from the off, linking up well with Marcelo to create Real's first chance, and put in a series of dangerous crosses from the left flank.

Only Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez, who both played 30 minutes longer, managed more key passes and in an end-to-end encounter. All that effort meant Bale visibly tired in the second half and he was replaced by Lucas Vazquez.

His return makes Ronaldo happy, and that's key for Real as the Portuguese star again proved the difference on the night, while Bale now has plenty of time to rest up before a trip to Las Palmas on Sunday.

Real back on track?

Zinedine Zidane's side have bounced back with three straight wins after their derby defeat to Atletico Madrid on February 27, but the 2-0 win on Tuesday doesn't tell the whole story.

Far from it in fact, because for an hour Roma made things extremely difficult for the Spanish giants. The Italians continually profited from Marcelo's attacking instincts, as Mohamed Salah caused problems all evening down Real's left.

He twice squandered one-on-one chances, while Edin Dzeko fired wide early on with only Keylor Navas to beat.

The Real Madrid goalkeeper made fine saves from Alessandro Florenzi and Kostas Manolas before Real put the game beyond their opponents with two goals in four second-half minutes.

Somehow, despite all that, Real Madrid have still not conceded a goal at home in the competition. On this evidence, they'll do well to extend that record.

James responds to jeers

After struggles with form and fitness, James received the backing of manager Zidane ahead of Tuesday's game, and the Colombian responded with an improved performance.

It wasn't perfect, and the Bernabeu crowd threatened to turn after a misplaced cross at 0-0 failed to find an unmarked Ronaldo, but he took his goal neatly.

The former Monaco man never shied away despite the jeers, taking 91 touches - second only to Kroos - and made the joint-most key passes and won the second-highest number of duels over the course of the evening.

But he also lost possession five times more than any of his Real Madrid team-mates, and throughout the first-half he looked on a different wavelength to Ronaldo.

That changed after the break when Real took control, as James tested Wojciech Szczesny with an acrobatic scissor kick before firing under the Roma 'keeper for Real's second.

It wasn't a performance to convince all the doubters, but it's a start.

Wolfsburg limp into last eight

The German side improved in the second half against Gent to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time in their history, but they will have to up their game further if they are to progress again.

Gent had more possession at the Volkswagen Arena, and seemed the more confident side in the first half as they looked to pick up from where they left off in the latter stages of the first leg.

Wolfsburg's attacking line-up - namely Andre Schurrle, Julian Draxler and Max Kruse - look threatening on paper, but they didn't move past second gear on Tuesday night.

Is this the real, inconsistent Wolfsburg we have seen in the Bundesliga? Their performance against Manchester United in December suggests not, but in truth, they may be many sides' desirable opponents in the last eight.

Gent's bright spark

Gent's best player, and perhaps the best player from either side on the night, was Moses Simon, the 20-year-old Nigerian forwarded previously linked with Tottenham in the British press.

Despite his age, he has played 32 times for the Belgian side this season as they look for a second successive Pro League title, and on Tuesday night had Wolfsburg right-back Christian Trasch chasing shadows.

He got past him with ease on four occasions on the left wing, with decent delivery to boot, but Gent's lack of commitment in filling the box was their downfall in the second leg.

To just about everyone's surprise, he was brought off with 20 minutes remaining with the score goalless, but more performances like that and we could see more press links across Europe.