Match report
FULL TIME: Juventus 0-3 Real Madrid
Ronaldo misses a sitter, free in the middle, ten yards out. A wild blast over. See, kids, he is human after all. Then Juventus nearly claim a consolation, first through Higuain and then Cuadrado. But they can’t force the ball home, and it’s all over. The reigning European champions are as good as in the semi-finals already, having ripped last year’s runners up to bits. The icing on the cake: Ronaldo’s sensational bicycle kick, a goal you’ll be seeing again, and again, and again, and again. And you’ll not get sick of it either. Three in a row suddenly seems a very real prospect.
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90 min: Ronaldo dribbles down the left with hat-trick scoring intent. He enters the box and fires hard towards the bottom left. Buffon tips the ball round the post. The corner leads to nothing. But Real come back at Juve again. Asensio has a whack from just inside the area. Buffon gathers a poor attempt easily enough.
88 min: Kovacic is booked for a thoroughly pointless slide on Higuain in the midfield.
87 min: Real are toying with Juventus now. They ping the ball hither and yon. Eventually it’s teed up for Kovacic, who twangs the crossbar from the edge of the area.
85 min: Ronaldo races down the inside-left channel and tries to flick over Buffon, but doesn’t work out his angles correctly this time.
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84 min: Marcelo strides down the left and crosses deep. Ronaldo rises high at the far post, in search of his hat-trick. Buffon, whose dream of completing his set with a Champions League medal is in ruins, rises higher to claim.
82 min: Asensio romps down the left and pulls one back into the centre for Modric, who tries to flash an outside-of-foot worldie into the top right. It’s wild. And it’s his last act of the evening. He’s replaced by Kovacic.
80 min: A sense that we’re running down the clock now. Just 100 minutes of this tie to go.
78 min: Quite a few Juve fans have chipped off already. The many who remain have fallen silent. But credit where it’s due: their collective sporting reaction to Ronaldo’s goal reflects very well on them. Ronaldo accepted their applause graciously too. A lovely moment, though bittersweet as hell for the bianconeri.
76 min: Cuadrado replaces Khedira, while Asensio comes on for Isco. “Pele’s goal in Escape to Victory was just a little bit better,” claims David Bull. Who could argue?
74 min: The thing is, Juve haven’t done that much wrong. They’ve just been run ragged by the reigning champs. Again. Few teams would have an answer to this.
GOAL! Juventus 0-3 Real Madrid (Marcelo 72)
Marcelo cuts in from the left and one-twos with Isco to his left. Then he one-twos with Ronaldo to his right. Then he rounds Buffon on the right and pokes into an empty net. That’s a wonderful goal, though it looks slightly ordinary in the context of what Ronaldo’s just done. Still. Juve’s hearts are broken.
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71 min: Ronaldo shanks a shot wide right from 12 yards. He’s only human after all. “I’m not much of a Juve fan, but seeing reaction shots of Buffon looking sad makes my heart ache,” writes Kári Tulinius. “I rarely root for him, but it takes a heart of stone to root against him.”
69 min: A double change by Juve: Douglas Costa and Asamoah off, Matuidi and Mandzukic on.
68 min: Ronaldo lets a smile play across his lips. He’s earned the right. That bicycle kick was beyond brilliant. You’ll be seeing it a few times.
RED CARD! Dybala (Juventus)
66 min: A high kick into Carvajal’s ribs, in the middle of the park. It looked more clumsy than aggressive, but that’s a second yellow, and Juve’s Champions League campaign is falling to bits in double-quick time.
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THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS! Juventus 0-2 Real Madrid (Ronaldo 64)
Chiellini and Buffon get into a tangle, the former poking the ball past his own keeper as he rushes from his line. Ronaldo gets onto the loose ball, and threatens to shoot from a tight angle on the left. He can’t find space, so tees up Vazquez instead. Vazquez shoots for the top right. Buffon, recovering, parries magnificently. The ball breaks to the right. Carvajal hooks it back into the centre ... where Ronaldo, his back to goal on the penalty spot, sends an overhead kick into the top right! He steered that magnificently! Perfection! Buffon was rooted, and had no chance! And the Juve fans stand as one to applaud the sheer brilliance of the man. That was sensational!
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62 min: Space for Asamoah on the left. He’s got men in the box, but blooters his cross over the area and to safety on the other wing. Marcelo waltzes off with the ball.
60 min: Something of a lull, which will do the European champions nicely. Juve need to up the tempo here.
58 min: The first change of the evening: Lucas Vazquez replaces Benzema.
57 min: Barzagli fannies about on the edge of his own box. Isco barges him off the ball and Ronaldo is clear on goal! But the referee gives Juve a free kick. That’s pretty generous. Juve breathe again.
56 min: Dybala looks to flip one over the wall and into the top right. Navas goes off after it. But the ball deflects off the wall - Ronaldo, by the looks of it - and flies in the other direction! It’s surely going to nestle into the unguarded left-hand side of the net. Time stands still ... and the ball somehow flies out of play for a corner, to the left of the post. That didn’t look physically likely. And the resulting corner comes to nothing.
55 min: Dybala dances down the middle of the park. He’s cynically barged from behind by Ramos, who is shown a yellow card. Real Madrid’s captain will now miss the second leg. And this is a free kick, just outside the Real D. Dybala springs up. He fancies this all right.
53 min: Ramos takes his sweet time to get back on his feet. The Juve fans don’t appreciate his time-management skills.
52 min: Carvajal knocks Higuain to the ground, and this is a chance for Juve to load the box. The ball’s pumped into the mixer. Bedlam. Navas accidentally whacks his own man Ramos upside the head. Ooyah, oof. Higuain snatches at an effort from outside the area: it’s well over the bar.
50 min: Benzema robs Bentancur in the midfield, then races down the right. He bursts into the area but can’t quite sort his feet out for a shot. No worries. The ball breaks to the right for Ronaldo, who shoots low from an absurd angle, his effort nearly nestling into the bottom left. The ball flies inches wide of the post. So close to a second that would put Juventus in all sorts of bother.
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48 min: Now Costa skitters down the right, putting Real very much on the back foot. He curls one across the face of the Real goal. Nobody in black and white stripes anticipates the fine cross. The ball bounces apologetically out of play to the left of the goal.
47 min: Douglas Costa spreads a ball down the left for Asamoah, who briefly threatens to break into the Real box. Not quite. But Juve have come out with the air of men who know they realistically need something in the next 45 minutes.
And we’re off again! The hosts get the second half underway. No changes.
Half-time reading:
HALF TIME: Juventus 0-1 Real Madrid
Both teams have been lively in attack. But it’s the visitors who have the precious away goal. That Cristiano Ronaldo, huh? A scorer now in ten consecutive Champions League games!
45 min: Dybala tries to nip through a gap between Casemiro and Modric on the edge of the Real box. He goes over Casemiro’s leg. Too easily, says the referee. Booking.
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44 min: Dybala takes it himself, looking for the top left. But his shot smacks Varane flush in the face. Juve launch another attack. Chiellini flicks it into the area from the edge of the box. Casemiro intercepts with his chest. A suggestion it’s struck his arm. Chiellini certainly makes that suggestion, with force. But nothing doing. The players are too close together. The pressure is finally relieved on Real when Dybala sends an ambitious volley miles over the bar.
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43 min: Dybala dribbles in from the right. He’s not really threatening to open Real up, but Modric clumsily clatters into him, and this is a free kick just outside the D in a central position. Very dangerous.
41 min: Bentancur has a shot from 25 yards. It just about stays inside the stadium.
40 min: It’s a small wonder that there’s only been one goal in this match. Both teams have been full of beans in attack.
38 min: Dybala earns a corner down the left. The set piece is hit long ... and drops to Chiellini, six yards out, level with the right-hand post. He must score! But he doesn’t get his header right at all. It skids wide right, and is hacked out of play for a second corner which comes to nothing. What a chance!
36 min: Real nearly score a second! Kroos latches onto a loose ball, 25 yards out, and launches an instant riser towards the top left. On target, and Buffon was beaten. But it’s a fraction too high, and twangs off the crossbar and out for a goal kick. Such a wonderful effort! So unlucky!
35 min: Marcelo goes down having been brushed in the face - accidentally - by Dybala. Again, not much in it. But the referee awards a free kick, which irritates the home fans further. Dybala’s not happy at all.
34 min: De Sciglio races down the inside-right channel and shoots low and hard towards the bottom left. It’s always going wide, though Dybala nearly connects with a toe, sliding in.
32 min: Carvajal tries to burst into the Juve box, but is stopped in his tracks by Asamoah. He goes down clutching his face. There doesn’t look a great deal in it, but having claimed the penalty, he’s forced to stay down. Dybala thinks about launching a move up the other end, but sportingly plays the ball out. The home fans are beyond livid with that decision, sure that Carvajal is trying it on. He’s soon up and about again.
30 min: At the corner, Ramos is penalised for a wee shove on Chiellini. Here, that first half-hour zipped by quickly.
29 min: Khedira glides down the left with extreme prejudice and forces a corner. Dybala’s delivery isn’t all that, and Real launch a counter attack. Benzema and Isco combine down the right and win a corner down the other end.
27 min: Casemiro bursts into a gap down the middle of the park. Juve are retreating at pace, so Bentancur slides in from behind to put a stop to his gallop. The referee awards the free kick, but more importantly books the Juve midfielder, who will miss the second leg as a result.
25 min: The rain continues to pelt down in Turin. This is positively Mancunian. Dybala and Khedira one-two their way down the middle. The ball’s slipped right to Douglas Costa, who drops a shoulder with a view to cutting back inside and shooting. But his first touch is heavy. Clank. Cleared.
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23 min: Higuain earns a free kick off Carvajal as he bustles down the left. The set piece is curled viciously into the area by Dybala. Higuain rises to meet it, six yards out, sidefooting a volley goalwards in acrobatic fashion. It’s surely the equaliser. But it’s stopped on the line by a stunning point-blank save from Navas! Not sure how he kept that out. But keep it out he did. Wonderful play all round.
21 min: Dybala nearly spins round Varane on the edge of the Real box, but the defender sticks out a telescopic leg to recover, just as it looked like he’d been sold the dummy.
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19 min: Isco is in a busy mood. He races after an overhit Ronaldo pass down the left, and earns a corner he had no right to win. But he tap-takes it too quickly and Real lose possession. Juve don’t look sure of themselves down this flank at all.
17 min: Isco drops deep on the right. He loops a diagonal one towards Benzema. De Sciglio gets an eyebrow in the way, just as the Real striker was contemplating a van Bastenesque volley.
15 min: Real stroke it around the middle awhile, just because they feel like it. It frustrates the home support, who had been watching their team get a foothold in this match.
13 min: Bentancur dribbles upfield from deep, getting Juve out of a spot as Real pressed hard. It’s a lovely burst that turns panicked defence into threatening attack. He one-twos with Higuain, and attempts a powerful sidefooter into the bottom right from the edge of the Real box. It’s blocked the second it leaves his boot. But a fine move. Beckenbentancur.
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11 min: Carvajal romps down the right and earns the first corner of the match. Kroos curls it into the mixer. Varane wins a free header on the penalty spot; he should have got it on target, but the ball sails harmlessly over the bar.
9 min: Higuain chases after a long looping pass down the left, but can’t quite spring the Real defence. Juve have seen plenty of the ball since the goal. It’s been a good response to that early shock.
7 min: Dybala tries it on down the inside-left channel again. He feeds Chiellini. Carvajal is on hand to put a stop to the move. A couple of nice, slick moves, though.
6 min: But finally the home side wake up, Khedira and Dybala one-twoing down the inside-left channel to earn a corner. For a second, it looked as though Dybala had made space to shoot, but he was closed down quickly by Ramos. The resulting corner comes to nothing.
5 min: That’s not exactly silenced the Juventus Stadium - the Real fans are making the sort of noise you’d expect them to after that fast start - but the home faithful are stunned. Juve don’t tend to let in many goals, and here they are trailing already.
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GOAL! Juventus 0-1 Real Madrid (Ronaldo 3)
Well this didn’t take long! And it’s easy as you like! Marcelo flicks a pass down the left for Isco, who rolls a pass inside for Ronaldo, on the left-hand edge of the six-yard box. For some reason, all the Juve lads are on the right-hand edge of it, in a huddle. Ronaldo meets the cross, and fiercely flicks an unstoppable first-time shot into the right-hand portion of the net. Crisp and clean. Buffon had no chance!
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2 min: The pitch is sodden. A few loose passes at the moment. Benzema’s poor square ball in the midfield nearly allows Douglas Costa to run free down the right. Costa can’t keep control. Ronaldo probes down the left, but his hopeful cross is nowhere near a vivid teal shirt, and Chiellini clears with ease.
And we’re off! The reigning European champions Real Madrid get the party started. Casemiro shanks a simple pass into the stand. Juve give up possession from the resulting throw in short order. The only way is up.
The teams are out! Juve and Real take to the pitch at the Juventus Stadium in Turin on an evening that would do a British bank holiday proud: it’s cold, wet and miserable. Juve wear their black-and-white-striped homage to Notts County, so Real Madrid are forced into their Tetris-inspired third-choice “vivid teal” shirts. Vivid teal. Number three on the list of football colours that don’t quite stir the soul, behind ecru and mauve. Anyway, there’s one heck of an atmosphere in Turin - the Stadio delle Alpi this ain’t - and we’ll be off in a minute!
Pre-match reading: The good doctor, Sid Lowe, considers the long history between the current champions of Spain and Italy.
Juve make four changes to the team that won 3-1 against Milan on Saturday. Mattia De Sciglio, Douglas Costa, Alex Sandro and Rodrigo Bentancur take the places of Stephan Lichtsteiner, Blaise Matuidi, Mehdi Benatia and the suspended Miralem Pjanic.
Real Madrid only name five players from the starting XI that won 3-0 at Las Palmas three days ago: Keylor Navas, Raphael Varane, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Casemiro. That means a return for Dani Carvajal, Toni Kroos, Marcelo, Isco and Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s the same team that started last year’s final. Gareth Bale is on the bench, no doubt contemplating options.
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The teams
Juventus: Buffon, De Sciglio, Barzagli, Chiellini, Asamoah, Khedira, Bentancur, Costa, Sandro, Dybala, Higuain.
Subs: Szczesny, Cuadrado, Marchisio, Matuidi, Mandzukic, Rugani, Lichtsteiner.
Real Madrid: Navas, Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo, Kroos, Casemiro, Isco, Modric, Ronaldo, Benzema.
Subs: Casilla, Vallejo, Bale, Hernandez, Vazquez, Asensio, Kovacic.
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey).
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Preamble
It’s a repeat of last year’s final! And of the 2014/15 semis, the 2004/05 Round of 16, the 2002/03 semis, the 1997/98 final, the 1995/96 quarters, the 1986/87 second round, and the 1961/62 quarters. These sets of lads have quite the history together.
Real Madrid had the upper hand in last year’s final, you’ll remember. They beat Juventus 4-1 in Cardiff last May, and in doing so became the first club to retain Europe’s biggest prize in the Champions League era. That made it two from two in finals for Madrid against the Old Lady: they prevailed in Amsterdam in 1998 too.
But the Spanish giants haven’t had it all their own way. Because Juve have won the last four two-legged knockout ties between these clubs. And they’re the last side to eliminate the reigning champs from this competition, a feat they achieved in the semis three seasons ago. In fact, Madrid haven’t won one of these two-legged affairs with Juve since 1986, and even then they required penalties to prevail.
So Juve will fancy their chances tonight. Not least because they’re unbeaten in their last seven games against Madrid in Turin: they’ve won six and drawn the other. Real haven’t won at Juventus since 1962. And the last time a Spanish side travelled to face these giants of Serie A? Barcelona, last year, who copped for a big 3-0 whooping. The Bianconeri are also unbeaten at home in 27 European matches.
Madrid have cobbled together a run of their own, mind you. They’ve won their last five matches against Italian opposition; they’re looking to win their eighth quarter-final in a row; and they’ve lost just two of their last 27 matches in Europe. Oh, and they’re hoping to become the first club since Bayern Munich in 1976 to complete a hat-trick of consecutive European Cups. No biggie.
Two of Europe’s biggest beasts lock horns at Juventus Stadium, then. It promises to be quite the battle. It’s the first leg of the 2017/18 quarters. It’s on!
Kick off: 8.45pm in Turin, 7.45pm BST.
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