London [England], Sept 15 : Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata scored late goals to help Real Madrid avoid an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Sporting Lisbon in their Champions League opener at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain.

Sporting looked set to pull off a stunning upset victory over the reigning champions, thanks to Bruno Cesar's 47th-minute goal, but Ronaldo dampened his boyhood club supporters' spirits by curling in an 88-minute free-kick.

The Portuguese international, however, didn't celebrate his goal and lifted his hands apologetically towards the top of the north end of the stadium, where Sporting's fans had fallen quiet for the first time, the Guardian reported.

Three minutes later, substitute Alvaro Morata hammered the final nail in the coffin by heading in an injury-time winner to snatch victory from Sporting. (ANI)