Like Arsenal 24 hours earlier, Real advanced to the knockout stages with a comfortable margin of victory but, for the first time in years, they will not go into next Friday’s draw as the favourites.

Their struggles in group B, and the nine-point gap to Barcelona in La Liga, have led many to conclude that players such as Zinedine Zidane, Raúl and Roberto Carlos are on the downslope of their glorious careers and it will take more than last night’s success to turn the tide of opinion.

Having finished second behind Bayer Leverkusen, Real can draw Arsenal or Chelsea in the next round and both London clubs would fancy their chances of beating the nine-time champions. Jonathan Woodgate might be available by February after his long absence because of injury, but it will take more than his belated appearance to restore the lustre to Madrid.

Still, it was mission accomplished last night in strange circumstances and David Beckham, who reverted to central midfield, said that no one would be relishing a trip to the Bernabéu in the knockout stages.

“No one looks forward to getting Real Madrid,” he said. “I know all about that from my days at Manchester United. Getting Real is frightening.”

This was not a night for judging if Real can win their fourth European Cup in eight seasons. “Teams need fans to inspire them,” Mariano García Ramón, the Real coach, said, but there were 80,000 empty seats in the Olympic Stadium. It was a punishment after Roma’s home game against Dynamo Kiev had to be abandoned when the referee was struck by a missile.

It felt like a training session and, for Roma, that was all it amounted to. Luigi Del Neri, the club’s third coach this season, rested Francesco Totti, Antonio Cassano, Vincenzo Montella and all but a few of his first XI. That left a sprinkling of internationals but there was not even the incentive of a place in the Uefa Cup as they attempted, fitfully, to respond to an early goal from Ronaldo and two from Luis Figo.

Mesmerising in bursts, Ronaldo saves his energy these days for when it is most needed. Moments, in fact, like the ninth minute when, after touches from Beckham and Zidane, he charged into the penalty area and beat Ivan Pelizzoli with a chip.

It was a deft finish although the goalkeeper made it ludicrously easy. Pelizzoli seemed more worried about being hit in the face than stopping Ronaldo’s shot and the Italy goalkeeper, capped only last month, was comically unpredictable. Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, may have his problems with Jens Lehmann and Manuel Almunia, but he does not have the worst goalkeeper in the Champions League.

The goal prompted such loud commentary from one excitable Spanish radio presenter that his cry of “Ronaldo” echoed around the empty stadium and even drew applause from the journalists and dignitaries. It was that sort of night, although it would have taken on a far more serious tone for Real had Roma been more accurate with their shooting.

Frustration was starting to undermine Real’s performance with Beckham, Ronaldo and Raúl all looking at each other accusingly but, just when they looked at their most uncertain, they doubled their lead.

It was not a goal to be proud of as Ronaldo tumbled to the floor after only the slightest contact from Traianos Dellas. Figo scored from the spot and added his second near the end with a fizzing shot. It was a goal that deserved more than the cheers of a few hundred VIPs.

AS ROMA (3-4-3): I Pelizzoli — P Mexes, T Dellas, M Ferrari — Cufre (sub: R De Martino, 82min), S Perrotta, A Aquilani, V Candela — Mancini, M Delvecchio, D Corvia. Substitutes not used: C Zotti, L Sartor, G D’Agostino, A Cerci, A Briotti, A Simonetta. Booked: Dellas, Perrotta.

REAL MADRID (4-4-2): I Casillas — M Salgado, I Helguera, W Samuel, R Carlos — L Figo (sub: F Pavón, 82), D Beckham, Guti, Z Zidane (sub: A Celades, 86) — Raúl, Ronaldo (sub: M Owen, 84). Substitutes not used: C Sanchez, F Morientes, R Bravo, A Celades, S Solari. Booked: Zidane.

Referee: R Temmink (Netherlands).