Carlos Tevez’s brilliant season for Juventus continued today as the striker’s second-half penalty kick was the difference in Juve’s 2-1 win over Real Madrid at Juventus Stadium.
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Massimiliano Allegri’s men now hold a slight advantage heading into the second leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal matchup, which will take place next Wednesday in Madrid.
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Juventus had a positive start to the game and was rewarded within the opening ten minutes. Carlos Tevez found a massive gap in the Real defense and took a through ball from Claudio Marchisio, firing on net. His shot was stopped by Iker Casillas, but Alvaro Morata was there at the back post to tap in the rebound against his former club. Nine minutes in and the hosts had the lead.
The match had a good pace to it, and both teams looked fluid when they got forward on the attack. Real Madrid found an equalizer in the 27th minute, when the head of Cristiano Ronaldo connected with a cross from James Rodriguez. It was Ronaldo’s 76th UEFA Champions League goal, and he now holds a one goal advantage over Lionel Messi for the most in the competition’s history.
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Madrid nearly took the lead towards the end of the half, but James Rodriguez was rejected by the crossbar. Isco played a cross in which found James open in the six-yard box, but the Colombian couldn’t keep his header down as the teams went into the break level at one.
Juventus got off to another good start in the second half, and regained the lead in the 58th minute when a blocked shot in their own end sent Carlos Tevez on a full-field counter attack. Tevez took the ball all the way into the Real box and was taken down by Dani Carvajal to earn Juventus a penalty. Tevez finished what he started, beating Casillas down the middle from the spot to put Juve back ahead 2-1.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men controlled most of the possession down the stretch of the match, but failed to create any dangerous chances on goal. Gareth Bale was nearly invisible for Real, and was substituted off for the final minutes. However, they did score that crucial away goal, which could be massive come the second leg.
LINEUPS
Juventus: Buffon, Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Chiellini, Evra, Marchisio, Pirlo, Sturaro (Barzagli, 64'), Vidal, Tevez (Pereyra, 86'), Morata (Llorente, 78')
Goals: Morata (9'), Tevez (58')
Real Madrid: Casillas, Varane, Pepe, Carvajal, Marcelo, Ramos, Isco (Hernandez, 63'), Kroos, James, Ronaldo, Bale (Jese, 86')
Goal: Ronaldo (27')