Álvaro Morata stuns Real Madrid to take Juventus into European Cup final
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Version 0 of 1. Massimiliano Allegri had warned his team they would face “95 long and interminable minutes” at the Santiago Bernabéu, and for much of a hot, noisy and nervous night it must have felt that way; but the reward at the end of it was huge. Italy’s Old Lady is heading for Berlin to face Barcelona, the first time Juventus have reached the Champions League final since 2003. A 1-1 draw was enough to secure a 3-2 aggregate victory that Allegri described as “extraordinary”. Not many expected Juventus to make it this far; still fewer expected them to go further. As for Madrid, the question now will be whether Carlo Ancelotti continues; a trophyless season tends to end with a jobless manager. “If the club is happy, I can continue. If not, they will have to take a decision,” he said. “I would like to stay but I know very well how things are in football. The club has the right to change coach if it is not happy.” His hopes of a second successive success, and his fifth final as a coach, fell apart just before the hour thanks to a goal few in Spain seemed to have contemplated. Related: Gareth Bale defiant over fans’ criticism of Real Madrid’s European exit Much had been made of the fact that Madrid needed only one goal to overturn the first-leg deficit and progress but that was founded on the premise that Juventus would not score, but score they did. Álvaro Morata, who joined Madrid as a 16-year-old, struck the goal on 57 minutes. He did not celebrate out of respect for the club that saw him grow into a player who will now play in his second consecutive European Cup final, one for each of these teams, and perhaps too because there was still much work to do. More than half an hour remained during which Juventus knew a Madrid goal would take it to extra time. The time to celebrate would come after that, if Juve could resist, and so they fought as white shirts poured towards them, defenders seemingly multiplying. “There was tension; they are an extraordinary team and it is not easy to contain them,” Allegri said. When eventually the end came, Madrid had taken 22 shots but only one had gone in. It had come after 23 minutes and it seemed to set up a comfortable passage to the final. What came next did not seem plausible then. Cristiano Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot after James Rodríguez fell under challenges from Claudio Marchisio and Giorgio Chiellini. The goal came in front of the south end where before the game a gigantic tarpaulin had depicted Alfredo Di Stéfano, the man who changed this club for ever when he arrived in 1953. It was Ronaldo’s 307th goal for Madrid, equalling Di Stéfano’s record. Only Raúl lies before him now and he will be caught in due course. The slogan that had accompanied Di Stéfano read “My Real attack” and attack they did. Before the goal, Ronaldo had speared a free-kick just over and Gareth Bale’s long shot was pushed away by Gianluigi Buffon. His had been the first chance too, a header that drifted over after 35 seconds. Juventus’s open approach and their imprecise passing suited Madrid, often confronted by space, not opponents. Isco and Ronaldo hit the side-netting, Buffon caught a Karim Benzema header and then made an even sharper save, this time low at his near post. Juventus were grateful for the half-time whistle; the game was in danger of slipping away definitively. Instead, they were still in it but only Arturo Vidal had troubled Iker Casillas. Related: Marcelo shines but Juventus’ direct approach defeats Real Madrid And yet the goal did come. Juventus’s passing did not convince but there was a nervousness about Madrid now, as if they were suddenly aware of their vulnerability. A mistake from Marcelo almost allowed Vidal to feed Morata inside the area and then Sergio Ramos bundled the Chilean over. The free-kick was punched away by Casillas but when the ball came back in Paul Pogba out-jumped Ramos, whose position allowed the players exiting the area to enter it again onside. It dropped to Morata near the penalty spot and he controlled and hit a bouncing ball up and through Casillas’s hands into the net. This was different now. Madrid had been preparing a defensive change; now they had to chase the game. As they did so, Juventus could have ended it, Casillas saving from Marchisio one-on-one. And while Madrid sought the goal, ideas were few. Bale put one wide before Ronaldo set up a cross from the left which the Welshman leapt to reach at the far post, just a couple of yards out. His header, though, ran across the top of the net. The noise rose and the clock ran, not quickly enough for the Italians, too quickly for the Spaniards. Andrea Pirlo was withdrawn for Andrea Barzagli, Juventus shifting to three central defenders with 12 minutes left that promised to be long indeed. Bale hit another one shot wide but real chances were strangely few, the best actually coming for Pogba at the other end. The board went up moments later; four minutes, so 94 not 95 long minutes. At 10.38pm on a hot night in Madrid the referee blew his whistle and Juventus’s players leapt into the sky and sprinted across the pitch, en route to Berlin. |