Stoppagetime penalty gets Real to semifinal
BERLIN: Cristiano Ronaldo scored a stoppagetime penalty against Juventus as holder Real Madrid advanced to the last four of the Champions League, despite a 31 home defeat at the Bernabeu yesterday.
Bayern Munich, meanwhile, sealed its place in the semifinals with a goalless draw at home to Sevilla, which had Joaquin Correa shown a red card in stoppage time.
Bayern and Real join Roma and Liverpool in the semifinal draw tomorrow.
German champion Bayern went through on a 21 aggregate after its firstleg victory in Spain last week, for its sixth semifinal in the last seven years.
Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes is not picky about who his side will face next.
‘‘No coach ever has a preference. Look at what happened to Barcelona yesterday. The games will be tight.
‘‘Some big teams have gone out. There are always surprises in the Champions League. I think we have a good chance. My players have big ambitions to win.’’
Real, 30 up from the first leg in Turin, found itself down to two Mario Mandzukic headers in the firsthalf and conceded a third when Blaise Matuidi netted after the break, following a fumble by keeper Keylor Navas.
However Real escaped extra time and possibly one of the biggest upsets in Champions League history after a penalty was awarded when Mehdi Benatia fouled Lucas Vazquez in front of goal, following Ronaldo’s headed knock down in the third minute of stoppage time.
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was then shown a red card by English referee Michael Oliver amid strong Juve protests in a sad Champions League farewell for the veteran keeper, who was playing his 160th match in Uefa competitions.
Poland keeper Wojciech Szczesny came on but could not stop Ronaldo’s powerful shot into the top corner of the net before the Portugal raced to the corner flag while tearing off his shirt and posing Tarzanstyle before jubilant Madrid fans.
‘‘My pulse was racing but I stayed calm, I knew it was decisive,’’ said Ronaldo.
‘‘We suffered and this has to serve as a lesson for us that in football you can’t take anything for granted, you have to keep fighting until the end.’’
It was a 15th Champions League goal this season for Ronaldo, playing his 150th CL game, and he has now scored in 11 consecutive games in the competition.
Twelvetime European champions Real are now in the last four for the eighth season in a row.
It was the second unlikely comeback by an Italian side against a Spanish team in as many days, following Roma’s 30 defeat over Barcelona on Wednesday, to go through on the away goals rule on a 44 aggregate.
‘‘I have a bitter taste, as we didn’t have the chance to go to extra time,’’ Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said.
‘‘Small details changed the whole tie, unfortunately. I had two more substitutions planned for extra time and I was confident we could do it.’’ — DPA