- Roo Legend: Rooney Retires from England duty!
- Australasia gets represented in the Premier League this year!
- Sanchez in North London, Where Have We Heard That Before?
- Sigurdsson Sale: Swansea could face Ragnarok after losing Thor!
- 2017/18 Premier League Predictions!
- PSG set to trigger record Neymar Fee!
- Mourinho thrives with a Prag-Matic approach!
- The Loan Ranger: Game of Loans!
- Rome(-lu) Wasn’t Built In A Day, But Hernandez Is Heading Hammers Way!
- Man United, Arsenal, and Huddersfield are all in a dash to splash the cash!
MOTD: Juventus 2-1 Real Madrid
Juventus thoroughly deserved a win after their robust and outstanding shift, yet Real Madrid will head home feeling hard done by. Madrid can beat anybody on their day, and even came close when they fell a bit flat tonight. They were indeed outthought, especially at the back; Gareth Bale fell flat and only in the few minutes after scoring did Cristiano Ronaldo look up to his best.
But who would bet against Madrid in the second leg? They were the favorites coming into the Champions League Quarterfinal tie, and an away goal from Cristiano Ronaldo keeps them well in the tie. A simple 1-0 win in the return leg would take Real through to the final. Their title defense is still alive, although to maintain it, their back-line will need quite a waking up. Injuries led to Sergio Ramos being deployed again in midfield, an ongoing trial on which the jury is very much still out. In part, the decision also meant Madrid failed to calm the game, and lacked some composure on the ball.
Juventus took the game to Madrid early on with such vigor and intensity that at times, their full-back Stephan Lichtsteiner could be caught behind Madrid’s back-line. Lichtsteiner and Patrice Evra maintained width on the wings, allowing Juve to funnel their play wide, especially on the break, then back into the middle. Just eight minutes in, everything clicked. Lichtsteiner cut it back to Claudio Marchisio, who found Carlos Tevez in miles of space in the channel between Marcelo and Raphael Varane, whom Alvaro Morata occupied, if not dominated, particularly in the first half. Tevez had all the time in the world to arrow a low effort across goal, and Casillas’ fingertip save could only prolong the inevitable: Morata poked home the rebound at the far post. The former Madrid forward transferee for the hefty price of €20 million, but how much his goal cost Madrid is yet to be decided (distribution money alone could amount to over €5m of the total, should Madrid lose).
It was enough to force Madrid to engage in the fierce, frenetic battle head-on, and Gigi Buffon was forced into work by long range efforts from Toni Kroos and Isco. Raphael Varane headed inches over from a corner, while Tevez’s long range effort also bounced wide of the goal on the other end of the pitch. Twenty-nine minutes in Ronaldo dragged a low effort wide after Isco found his diagonal run, and by the end of the half Juventus were forced onto the back foot.
They had to turn the tables, however, as (who else?) Ronaldo equalized for Madrid. In a rare bright moment Madrid, Dani Carvajal played a one-two with James Rodriguez down the right side of the box, and the latter poked a cross across the face of goal, where Ronaldo pulled ahead to head home unchallenged.
Forty-one minutes in, James Rodriguez nearly made it two. Facing a gaping goal, his diving header slammed the crossbar from Isco’s cross; Marcelo volleyed the rebound into the ground and into the roof of the net. Nonetheless, Juventus’ defense held the draw into the half.
The Old Lady would always have to play on the break in the second period, but how well they did so. Twelve minutes into the half, Tevez broke from a corner inside his own half and began crusading forward. Although he was pushed wide by Carvajal and his only option, Morata, tripped by Marcelo, he drew a penalty from Carvajal’s attempted tackle. The Argentina international buried the penalty himself. He peeled away, pumping his first triumphantly to the home crowd. Juventus kept Madrid from a single shot on target for the remaining half hour, and succeeded in suffocating Madrid of their craft.
Man of the Match: Alvaro Morata
Photo credit: Alessandro Conte on Wikipedia Commons