Real Madrid’s all-star strike force were unable to find the vital goals that they needed to get past the Italian Champions.
The young Spanish striker Alvaro Morata came back to haunt his former club as his goal at the Bernabeu was enough to carry Juventus through to the final in Berlin where they will face FC Barcelona. Morata never really found his niche at the Spanish club in spite of his spectacular talent.
He made a few appearances with the first team in minor league and cup games but a weak relationship with manager Carlo Ancelotti lead to Morata’s departure to a new club. With the support of Tevez and Vidal, Morata has thrived up top for Juventus and has helped them secure a Serie A title, a Coppa Italia final, and now a UEFA Champions League final.
Madrid were not surprisingly the first team to press, as they were down a goal following the 2-1 defeat in Turin last week. Marcelo whipped in a mean cross from the wing and Gareth Bale was there to meet it, the Welshman hardly challenged by Juve’s defense. Bale’s header glanced just over the bar, but it served as an early warning to Buffon and his back line.
Madrid continued to send picture-perfect crosses in from the wing. Carvajal and Marcelo were key players in Madrid’s attack, choosing to try and utilize the aerial threat that is posed by Ronaldo, Bale, and Benzema. Five minutes into the half, Benzema collected a perfectly weighted cross in from Carvajal, took a brilliant touch over the toes of his marker but unfortunately made a mess of the shot.
On the other side of the pitch, Juventus proved that they were also capable of streaks of brilliance up top. They worked the ball very well through the middle and down the wings- Pogba and Vidal were workhorses in the midfield and fed excellent balls in to Tevez and Morata. Juve still looked strongest on the counter-attack when the two strikers could catch Real Madrid with too many numbers forward. In the thirteenth minute, Tevez was able to take advantage of a great play from his side and forced a finger tip save from Casillas.
On the other end of the pitch, Real came painfully close to scoring when Buffon was caught out of his goal and the ball went bouncing in front of goal dangerously within reach of Ronaldo. Juventus managed to clear but they were starting to unravel in back. Three minutes later, the visitors were finally punished for their sloppy defending.
Initially, it looked as though James Rodriguez took a dive but from the ref’s angle and from the video replay, it was apparent that Chiellini came in hard, leading with his elbow, and failed to touch the ball. The Colombian striker went down in a heap and Real Madrid were awarded with a penalty. Cristiano Ronaldo made no mistake and confidently smashed the ball into the roof of the net, giving Real the lead on the night with twenty-three minutes gone.
As the half progressed, the ball seemed to move from one box to the other as each team tried to utilize their speed in the attack to catch their opponent on the counter. Benzema demonstrated the quality that he possessed with another great collection of the ball in the box and a shot but his effort missed the target.
With the first forty-five nearly up, James took a tumble again in an attempt to win another penalty for the home side but he was carded for his efforts. Had he not taken such a theatrical dive, the poor challenge from Vidal could have gone the other way and Real could have had a chance to snag a goal just before the break. The whistle blew and Real Madrid went into the locker room with the advantage on the night and the advantage of the away goal.
Ronaldo converted a penalty for Madrid
Juventus came out swinging, Marchisio with the first great chance of the second half. Once again the visitors utilized their speedy attack and caught Real Madrid backpedaling before they were able to establish a passing rhythm.
Recognizing that their best chances lay in the counter attack as Real slowly applied pressure up top and started to possess better, Juventus pulled Pogba and Vidal back to help defend and left Tevez and Morata up top to prowl for a loose ball.
Fifteen minutes after the restart, Real Madrid were the ones who began to look shaky in back. Their front line still threatened Buffon but Juve’s defense looked much more organized than they had in the first half. Meanwhile in back for the home side, Ramos and Varane were left scrambling to keep Juve’s counter-attack away from the goal and the Spaniard was forced to take Vidal down with a nasty challenge.
Pirlo’s free kick was bravely punched away by Casillas but collected at the top of the box by Vidal. The pass back into the box found Pogba and the Frenchmen sent a perfect pass to Morata in front of Real Madrid’s goal. Morata struck a perfect volley into the ground and the bounce beat Casillas.
Juventus’s goal to give them the aggregate lead went on to spark genius from both sides. With thirty-five minutes to go until the end of the match, Real Madrid needed a goal, and even then a goal would only send them through to overtime and possibly penalty kicks. Gareth Bale struck his first of many agonizingly close shots after Marcelo sent in a great ball from the wing. Bale’s volley skipped just wide of the goal. In the sixty-sixth minute, Benzema made way for Chicharito in the hope that the Mexican could work his magic again and find a late goal. Now up top with Ronaldo and James, he contributed to a brilliant play from Madrid that resulted in a dipping shot from James that nearly dipped low enough to beat Buffon.
On the other end of the pitch, Casillas kept his side in the game when he stopped a deadly shot from Marchisio, who struck the ball from just meters away from the goal mouth. Real responded by sending their arsenal downfield where Bale had two near misses within minutes of each other. Fifteen minutes from regulation time, Chicharito had a penalty appeal when he and Evra went down in the box but none of the officials surrounding the play were amused and play continued with a rapid run down the wings from Juventus. The visitors pushed on the counter attack but for the remainder of the match their goal was under siege. After a tense ten minutes of Real Madrid sending in cross after cross and shot after shot, the whistle sounded and the reigning champions were knocked from their perch.
Juventus will progress to their first final in 2003. While some were uncertain of their ability to perform well against the biggest and best of European football, they made good work of Real Madrid. They will face Barcelona in Berlin on June 6th.
