Nerves of steel: Cristiano Ronaldo shoots a penalty shot to score his side’s fourth goal during a Champions League quarter-final
Just when it looked like Juventus would pull off another stunning Champions League comeback, Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up once again.
Ronaldo converted a penalty kick deep into injury time to send Real Madrid through to the semifinals for the eighth straight season despite a 3-1 home loss to Juventus yesterday [Macau time]. The goal was enough to give the two-time defending champion a 4-3 aggregate win and avoid nerve-racking extra time after the Italian side had erased a seemingly insurmountable deficit from the first leg.
“It was a match in which we suffered,” Ronaldo said. “It shows that nothing is a given in football, you have to fight until the end. We didn’t play well, we have to admit. But in the end we deserved to advance.”
A day after seeing Spanish rival Barcelona blow a three-goal advantage against Roma in Italy, Madrid nearly did the same. But Juventus’ heroics came up just short after substitute Lucas Vazquez appeared to be pushed from behind inside the area in the third and final minute of stoppage time.
Veteran Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, in what was likely his last Champions League game, was then sent off for furiously complaining after the penalty decision. The Madrid crowd at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium gave Buffon a standing ovation as he left the field.
“Life goes on,” Buffon said. “I’m happy and proud of how we played, we made the impossible possible. It’s a shame it ends like this.”
In the night’s other quarterfinal, Bayern Munich advanced with a 0-0 home draw against Sevilla as the newly crowned Bundesliga champions defended a 2-1 advantage from the first leg.
Madrid won the first leg 3-0 in Turin last week, when Ronaldo scored with a spectacular bicycle kick for his second goal of the match.
That deficit made the return leg seem like an impossible task for Juventus but it got off to the perfect start when Mario Mandzukic opened the scoring with a header two minutes into the match. He added to the lead with another header before halftime, and Blaise Matuidi scored the third early in the second half after a blunder by Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
But Ronaldo, in his 150th Champions League appearance, then netted his 120th goal in the competition by converting the penalty with a firm shot into the top corner. He celebrated by taking off his shirt and running toward the euphoric Madrid crowd.
Ronaldo has scored 21 goals in his last 11 matches in all competitions, and has netted in 11 straight Champions League matches.
The penalty came as Vazquez was in position to score in front of the goal after Ronaldo headed down a cross into the area. Juventus players stormed toward English referee Michael Oliver, who apparently had help from his behind-the-goal assistant to make the call.
The penalty was taken eight minutes into stoppage time as it took a while for Oliver to clear the Juventus players who were protesting against the decision.
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said he had a brief encounter in the tunnel with Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, who didn’t play because of a suspension.
“I just told him that it wasn’t a clear penalty,” Allegri said.
Madrid had conceded three goals at home only two other times this season, in a 3-0 loss to Barcelona and a 6-3 win over Girona. It was the first time Madrid was down 3-0 in the Champions League since losing 4-0 at Liverpool in the round of 16 in 2008-09.
“We didn’t expect to concede an early goal like that,” Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “That allowed their team to grow and it made things difficult for us.”
Juventus took advantage of Madrid’s depleted defense, which had 21-year-old Jesus Vallejo playing alongside Raphael Varane.
Mandzukic opened the scoring in the second minute by entering the area behind the Madrid defenders to head in a well-placed right-flank cross by Sami Khedira in what was the fastest ever goal conceded by Madrid at home in the Champions league.
Mandzukic’s second goal came with another header in the 37th, after Madrid had created a few good scoring opportunities of its own despite looking lost on defense. Stephan Lichtsteiner made the cross from the right side and Mandzukic beat Dani Carvajal to the ball.
The third goal came thanks to a 61st-minute mistake by Navas, who failed to hold on to a mid-height cross into the area and dropped the ball into Matuidi’s feet in front of the goal.
“The first leg had given me confidence we could do this and the side deserved at least extra time,” Allegri said. Tales Azzoni, Madrid, AP
Bayern Munich reaches semifinals
Bayern’s Javi Martinez (left) and Sevilla’s Ever Banega challenge for the ball
Bayern Munich reached its sixth Champions League semifinal in seven seasons with a 0-0 draw against Sevilla in the second leg of their quarterfinal yesterday.
The Bavarian powerhouse, which clinched its sixth consecutive Bundesliga title on Saturday, progressed to the final four of Europe’s premier competition thanks to its 2-1 win in the first leg in Spain.
Bayern will face one of Liverpool, Roma or Real Madrid in the semifinals.
“It’s a step away from the final,” Bayern winger Arjen Robben said. “But it won’t get any easier. It’ll get harder.”
In the night’s other match, Cristiano Ronaldo scored an injury-time penalty for Madrid to progress despite a 3-1 home loss to Juventus, with a 4-3 aggregate score.
“There is no team that you’d rather have,” Bayern captain Thomas Mueller said of Friday’s semifinal draw. “We’ve earned it for ourselves and of course want to get through.”
Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes sent out his strongest lineup in Munich with Robert Lewandowski, James Rodriguez and Mueller flanked by Robben and Franck Ribery.
James went close with a free kick before Robben shot just wide of the far post as the home side made a promising start.
Sevilla also had opportunities, however, first for Pablo Sarabia, then Joaquin Correa.
“They had chances that they could have used better,” Bayern defender Joshua Kimmich said.
Sevilla’s players were showing more bite, winning more challenges with some leaving their mark – Lewandowski was left with large swelling under his right eye, while Javi Martinez, James and Rafinha also needed attention.
Bayern had better chances before the break through Mats Hummels and Franck Ribery, who shot straight at the goalkeeper.
Lewandowski hit the side-netting after the interval before Sevilla showed more ambition getting forward. Correa struck the crossbar with a header before the hour-mark.
But it was as close as the visitors got, and Sevilla’s hopes were already over when Correa was shown red card in injury time for a bad challenge on Martinez.
“What we need to cling on to tonight is the tremendous amount of work we did,” Sevilla captain Sergio Escudero said.
Bayern, which faces Bayer Leverkusen away in the semifinals of the German Cup next Tuesday, is going for a repeat of the treble it won in Heynckes’ last season in charge in 2013.
The veteran coach has overseen a major improvement in Bayern’s performances since being coaxed out of retirement in October for his fourth stint in charge.
“Nobody thought at the time that we’d win the league with five rounds to spare and a 20-point lead, and that the team would also reach the semifinals of the Champions League,” Heynckes said. AP
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