3 Things that went right and 1 Thing that wrong for Juventus against Real Madrid
It was a dramatic finish at the Santiago Bernebau in the second leg of the quarter-final clash and in spite of losing 3-1 on the night, Real Madrid went through to the final four, beating Juventus 4-3 on aggregate. The Bianconeri got off to a dream start when Mario Mandzukic headed the ball in only the second minute to make it 3-1 on aggregate.
And it was Mandzukic again to double the lead in the 37th minute, heading the ball in despite Keylor Navas getting a hand on it to give the Italian Champions a 2-0 lead at the break.
Juventus looked to have been inspired by AS Roma's comeback against Barcelona and they equalized the score on aggregate when Blaise Matuidi capitalized on a Keylor Navas error to send the Santiago Bernebau faithful in total shock.
However, a last minute penalty awarded by the referee ruined the whole game as Mehdi Benatia brought down Lucas Vazquez. Gianluigi Buffon was sent off for confronting the official about the decision while Cristiano Ronaldo tucked away his penalty in the sixth minute of stoppage time to send the Los Blancos through to another semi-final.
Here's what went right for Juventus in the second leg:
#3 Setting the platform for a comeback in the first half
Juventus couldn't have asked for a better start when they broke the deadlock in under two minutes. A Sami Khedira cross found Mario Mandzukic on the far post and the Croatian had no problems in heading it into the back of the net to give the Bianconeri hope.
Despite being on the receiving end of numerous Real Madrid attacks, the Italians were well organized defensively. A Stephan Litchsteiner cross found Mandzukic at the far post and the Juve forward delivered once again with his head to make it 2-3 on aggregate, setting the tone for his team to stage an upset in the second half.