Juventus 0-3 Real Madrid: 3 things that Real Madrid did right
Turin witnessed one of the iconic matches of the season made even more so by a Cristiano Ronaldo masterclass. Real Madrid trounced Juventus 3-0 in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals to attain a huge lead and virtually book a place for themselves in the final four.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a fine brace, the second of which will be talked about in the decades to come. He scored his first in the third minute of the game and then doubled his tally with a stunning overhead kick.
Marcelo added the third for Real Madrid which may prove to be the final nail in the coffin for Juventus and was simply a cherry on top for Real Madrid's stunning away performance.
So without further ado, let us dissect this match in further detail and discuss the three things that Real Madrid did right in their 3-0 win over Juventus:
#3 Winning the midfield battle
Zinedine Zidane opted to play a traditional 4-4-2 formation with Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos forming the midfield three and Isco playing further ahead as the tip of the diamond. They were up against the Juventus duo of Rodrigo Bentancur and Sami Khedira.
Right from the word go, Real Madrid were afforded time and space on the ball as Juventus decided to sit back and hit Madrid on the counter.
This ploy played to the visitors' advantage as it gave the likes of Modric and Kroos freedom to dictate the tempo of the game and to feed Isco in dangerous areas - which directly resulted in the first goal.
Without the ball, Isco dropped deep to match Juventus' flat 4-4-2 formation. Also, Bentancur received a booking at the half-hour mark which made him unable to play freely for the rest of the game.
This led the ageing Sami Khedira to single-handedly stop the most dynamic and effective midfield cauldron in the world.
Real Madrid dominated the centre of the park with utmost ease which ultimately led them to have a strong hold on the game.