Escape to victory
Ronaldo to rescue with late penalty after Italians stun Spanish giants to level tie
On a night of astonishing drama at the Bernabeu when Real Madrid flirted with disaster against Juventus, Ronaldo had the final say as only he can by crashing home a 98th-minute penalty to see the holders through to the Champions League semi-finals.
Almost exactly 24 hours after Barcelona crashed out after conceding three second-leg goals to Roma, Real did exactly the same against fiercely determined opponents who fought back to parity after losing the first leg 3-0 at home.
The Italians looked to have done enough to at least take the tie into extra-time when, as the away side, they would have had a considerable advantage: another goal and Real would have had to score two.
But, with moments remaining,
English referee Michael Oliver pointed to the penalty spot after Juve’s Medhi Benatia bundled over Lucas Vazquez in the six-yard area.
Amid amazing scenes, it seemed impossible to add another layer to the tension but, with Juventus players furiously contesting Oliver’s decision and Gianluigi Buffon screaming in his face and then pushing the official, Oliver reached for a red card and showed it to the Juventus keeper.
The 40-year-old, who is set to leave the club at the end of the season, was given a standing ovation from the home fans as he walked off the pitch in what is likely to be his final act in a long and eventful career in the Champions League.
Buffon was replaced by former Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny, who came on to the sight of Ronaldo staring down at him from the penalty spot. There was only going to be one result as the Real talisman rifled the ball into the top corner for his 15th goal in the competition this season. It made the score 3-1 on the night.
“My pulse was racing but I stayed calm, I knew it was decisive,” said Ronaldo, admitting to a rare show of nerves.
The Portuguese has now scored 21 goals in his past 11 matches in all competitions, and netted in 11 consecutive Champions League matches. He celebrated by taking off his shirt and running toward the euphoric Madrid crowd.
“It was a match in which we suffered,” he said. “It shows that nothing is a given in football, you have to fight until the end. We didn’t play well, we have to admit. But in the end we deserved to advance.”
As with the events in Rome the previous night, this was Champions League drama of the highest order. But irrespective of the result, there was no escaping the champions’ brittleness in reaching the semifinals for a record-extending eighth year in a row.
Real had conceded three goals at home on only two previous occasions this season and this was the first time they had trailed 3-0 in the Champions League since losing 4-0 at Liverpool in the 2008-09 round of 16.
Afterwards, Juventus were understandably unhappy, with coach Massimiliano Allegri apparently confronting Real’s absent captain Sergio Ramos in the tunnel. “I just told him that it wasn’t a clear penalty,” Allegri said. “The first leg had given me confidence we could do this and the side deserved at least extra-time.”
Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli went further by calling for VAR to be introduced in the competition although it is hard to understand what difference that would have made last night as replays suggested Oliver had got his big calls right.
Such knife-edge drama hardly seemed possible after Real had strolled to their first-leg win in Turin, courtesy of Ronaldo’s spectacular bicycle kick.
But, just as with Manchester City against Liverpool the previous night, Juventus got off to the perfect start when Mario Mandzukic scored from a precise far-post header in the second minute. The Croat added another headed goal before half-time, when Real replaced the ineffective Gareth Bale with Marco Asensio.
The changes made little difference and Blaise Matuidi scored the third early in the second half after a blunder by goalkeeper Keylor Navas. But by then the real drama was only just beginning and Ronaldo had yet to make his mark.
Afterwards Buffon was at least philosophical. “Life goes on,” he said. “I’m happy and proud of how we played, we made the impossible possible. It’s a shame it had to end like this.”
Last night’s other quarter-final saw Bayern Munich draw 0-0 with Sevilla to win 2-1 on aggregate. Real Madrid Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Vallejo, Marcelo; Casemiro (Lucas 46), Modric (Kovacic 75), Kroos; Isco, Ronaldo, Bale (Asensio 46). Subs Casilla, Benzema, Hernandez, Llorente. Booked Carvajal, Marcelo, Ronaldo. Juventus Buffon; De Sciglio (Lichtsteiner 17), Benatia, Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Khedira, Pjanic, Matuidi, Douglas Costa; Higuain (Szczesny 90), Mandzukic. Subs Cuadrado, Marchisio, Asamoah, Rugani, Sturaro. Sent off Buffon. Booked Pjanic, Mandzukic, Lichtsteiner, Alex Sandro, Douglas Costa, Benatia.
Referee Michael Oliver (England).