Ita s advantage Juventus FC in the UEFA Champions League semi-final as they cruise past Real Madrid 2-1 at the Juventus Stadium, Turin. Ex-Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata scored the opening goal of the game in the 8th minute. Real Madrida s superstar Cristiano Ronaldo restored parity in the game in the 27th minute from a free header. The winning goal for the Old Lady was scored by Argentine striker Carlos Tevez from the penalty spot.
Carlo Ancelotti fielded his team in a 4-4-2 formation with Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale as the front strikers. James Rodriguez and Isco featured in the right and left flank respectively. Toni Kroos and Sergio Ramos formed the teama s central midfield.
Both the teams took a safety first policy as neither of them all out for attacks. The home side broke the deadlock at the early hours. An out of position Marcelo failed to intercept a pass from the right flank as Carlos Tevez took the ball an attempted to place it on the second post. Iker Casillas dived and parried the ball away, but it fell into the foot of an unmarked Alvaro Morata on the far post. The Spaniard converted an easy tap-in to open the score sheet.
Real Madrid pulled one goal back in the 27th-minute courtesy a neat header from Cristiano Ronaldo. James Rodriguez floated a ball from the right side which came into the range of Ronaldo who had just an empty net in front of him. The Portuguese attacker converted a free header into the net from a point blank range.
The Los Blancos could have taken the lead at the stroke of half time, had luck been on their side. Iscoa floated a wonderful towards James Rodriguez who was standing a few yards away from the goal. The Colombian attempted a header which hit the cross bar and took a rebound. It was surely the easiest chance missed of the day. The teams went into the lemon break equal on goals tally and neither of them could impose their domination each other.
Real Madrid looked more integrated at the beginning of second half. Their confidence was boosted with a crucial away goal in the first half. They were looking forward to bag a second for the night and thereby pocket the match.
In the 57th minute, somewhat against the run of play Juventus quickly moved forward for a counter-attack. Alvaro Morata generated the generated the move initially but fell down near the penalty box. He passed it to his counterpart Carlos Tevez who entered the penalty box facing Iker Casillas. Dani Carvajal had no other option but to tackle the Argentine from the back. As expected the referee blew the whistle awarding the home side a penalty. Carlos Tevez completed his 50th goal as a Juventus player by converting a superb spot kick.
Giorgio Chiellini marshaled the Bianconeri defense and together they put up a stellar performance in front of strong Real Madrid attack force. They flawless throughout and did not allow even an inch of space to the opponent.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, did not put up a respectable show. Isco and Toni Kroos played well but the other stars were below par. Gareth Bale disappointed the most as he hardly made any fruitful impact. Sergio Ramos failed to cope up in his new position of central midfield. His midfield blockings were decent, but ball distribution was terrible. There was no creativity in the Madrid midfield and as a result they suffered at Turin.
Speaking to reporters, Carlo Ancelotti explained, “I believe that the game could have been better from our part.
“We tried, always looking for quality, but not always with efficiency. In some moments we did very well, in others less.
“We did not have enough consistency. We had some bad luck, with James hitting the crossbar, and then counter-attack from Marcelo’s shot. We are not happy, but confident we can change the result in the return.
We started very badly, left room between the lines, which cost us a goal. But after 15 minutes the team played well, with good control of the game. We scored through Cristiano, James’ hit the crossbar, we were playing well, had control of the game.”
The Real Madrid boss defended his decision to field Ramos as a center half saying, “Not just Ramos, we lacked precision in passes from back,” he said. “Ramos did well, although we forced the play too much, him and others. But, in general, the team fought and battled, Sergio too.”
Ancelotti believes they need to be calm and patient in the second leg to overturn their fortune.
“The answer is clear from the game — when we play the ball well we can make chances,” he said. “When we try and force it too much, Juventus are dangerous on the break. I believe they will sit back and try and hit us on the counter. We will have to be more patient than we were today.”