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UEFA Champions League, 1st semi-final: Juventus vs Real Madrid – As it happened...

Excellent display from Juventus to deny Real Madrid spoils in Turin. Alvaro Morata set the ton of the match by scoring the opener, against his former club, then Cristiano Ronaldo equalised for the defending champions. But a penalty conversion from Carlos Tevez all but settled the leg. The return leg is on May 13 at the imposing Santiago Bernanbeu and the Old Lady will need all the tricks in their book to capitalise from this win and make Champions League final in ages.

UEFA Champions League, 1st semi-final: Juventus vs Real Madrid – As it happened...

New Delhi: Excellent display from Juventus to deny Real Madrid spoils in Turin. Alvaro Morata set the ton of the match by scoring the opener, against his former club, then Cristiano Ronaldo equalised for the defending champions. But a penalty conversion from Carlos Tevez all but settled the leg. The return leg is on May 13 at the imposing Santiago Bernanbeu and the Old Lady will need all the tricks in their book to capitalise from this win and make Champions League final in ages.


FULL-TIME: Juventus (Morata 9', Tevez 57'(P)) 2 - 1 (Ronaldo 26') Real Madrid

Second-half

90+3' - Toni Kroos then took another free-kick from the play. Then the final whistle arrived as Gianluigi Buffon took the high ball with authority.

90+2' - On the break, Cristiano Ronaldo was fouled by Giorgio Chiellini for which the Italian was booked. Free kick to Rela Madrid.

90' - Corner to Juventus in the stoppage time. Three minutes added. Then, from the corner, Juventus earned a free-kick on the left. From a Pirlo delivery, Llorente headed into a waiting Casillas. Real avoided further blemish.

88' - On the counter, Real got a chance to equalise. But Marcelo's cross agonizingly cross an open Juventus goal-mouth with nobody to tap-in.

87' - Fernando Llorente almost got Juventus' third. But he drifted too wide to hit the frame.

85' - A reluctant Carlos Tevez substituted by Roberto Pereyra, who is on loan from Udinese. Real Madrid also got their second sub. Bale off for Jesse.

84' - Marcelo tried a cross after a long Real Madrid possession. From the clearance, Real Madrid won a throw-in. Marcelo put himself for the throw, then a link up with Carvajal opened up Juventus defence. But in the crowd, Hernandez lost possession and was booked for a foul on Lichtsteiner.

82' - Andrea Pirlo lost possession to Javier Hernandez, allowing Real Madrid push forward. Lucky, Pirlo. The ball was cleared by an alert Juventus defender.

80' - Throw-in to Juventus on the right flank. Chasing the second ball, Vidal was fouled and free-kick to the Italians.

79' - Huge risk taken by Leonardo Bonucci. He also gave away the ball to Ronaldo, but from the ensuing fight, Juventus won the ball, and was cleared to safety.

77' -  Ronaldo tried a shot, which was deflected of a Juventus player, for a corner. In between, Juventus brought in Fernando Llorente for a seemingly struggling Alvaro Morata.

76' - Carvajal joined Real Madrid attack, then after a prolong drill, Hernandez -- from the left -- delivered a cross inside the Juventus box, but to no fruition.

75' - Dani Carvajal, who escaped booking for that Tevez penalty, this time got the booking for a late tackle to his former team-mate Alvaro Morata.

74' - A minus from Hernandez reached Bale, but the winger's cross was far from satisfactory.

72' - Chiellini got another boot, this time from Hernandez. From the restart, Real Madrid won the ball back and though their work--horse Marcelo launched an attack, which resulted in a corner.

71' - Referee stopped play after a Lichtsteiner high boot. But, again, Juventus won the ball to create another move.

70' - A testing delivery from Pirlo, and few anxious moments for Real Madrid defender.

69' - With the arrival of Barzagli, Juventus are sure to sit back. Or it could be a matter of an experienced defender joining the play.

68' - A brief stoppage. A bloodied Giorgio Chiellini is receiving medical attention.

65' - First real contribution from Gareth Bale. The Welshman lofted a cross from the right for Ronaldo but the delivery failed to reach his team-mate.

64' - Sub for Juventus. Stephano Sturaro made way for Andrea Barzagli.

62' - Stephano Sturaro tried a left footed drive from the edge of the box, from a Arturo Vidal pass. But failed to hit the target. The super sub Javier Hernandez introduced in place of Isco.

60' - Lichtsteiner helped out Marcelo after the Brazilian was floored. Juventus got a free-kick inside the Real Madrid half, from the play, earned a corner. Andrea Pirlo delivered from the flag, but it was headed away for Ramos, to safety.

57' - GOAL! Tevez restored the Juventus lead with his 50th Old Lady goal. He put passed a wrong-footed Iker Casillas. In between, Vidal and Marcelo were also booked for running onto the referee.

55' - From the corner, Marcelo tried a long ranger. But from the rebound off a defender, Carlos Tevez ran away. The Argentine was fouled inside the Real Madrid box by Daniel Carvajal. PENALTY to Juventus.

54' - Lichtsteiner pulled back Isco and a free-kick to Real Madrid, then another Juventus foul meant Toni Kroos taking a free-kick inside the Juventus half. His delivery was claared away by Bonucci for the first corner of the half.

53' - Carlos Tevez got yet another shooting chance, but his attempt was deflected by a Real Madrid defender.

52' - Unlike the first half play, few niggling tackles have stalled the free-flowing game at Turin. Morata was subjected to a foul from Sergio Ramos.

51' -  A rare sight of Gareth Bale with the ball on the right flank.

50' - Giorgio Chiellini linked-up with former Manchester United player Patrice Evra. Then brought in Leonardo Bonucci into the play, then the Italian defender releases a long ball.

49' - Ramos got his say at Morata. The duo measured each other after a foul on Ronaldo inside the Real Madrid half. Free kick to Real.

48' - Marcelo floated a long ball from Ronaldo, passing three Juventus defenders. But the ball missed the intended target. Goal kick to Juventus.

47' - Tevez in action again. He tested Casillas with a long drive, but the Real skipper stood firm and no issues for the club.

46' - Carlos Tevez caught Sergio Ramos last soon after the re-start. First Yellow Card of the game to the Argentine.


With that equaliser, Cristiano Ronaldo (76) is now one goal ahead of Lionel Messi (75) as all-time Champions League top-scorer. The Portuguese has scored six goals in last six Champions League games vs Italian sides. And with that, Real Madrid can hope to break the Italian jinx.

First-half

45+1' - One minute added. And the first half ended with a Juventus attack.

43' - After a prolong argument, the referee gave a free kick to Juventus inside the Real Madrid half. After few counters, Morata was tackled just outside the Real box.

40' - Marcelo, Ronaldo and Isco probed Juventus midfield, then after few relays, switched flanks to the right. Good play from the defending champions. From the play, James Rodriguez's diving header hit the bar, and from the rebound Marcelo almost put a second. Close.

38' - Morata won a free-kick after a duel with Sergio Ramos. Moment ago, Ronaldo confronted with a Juventus player. And the Portuguese is angry.

36' - A blind, long ball from Real Madrid eased inside the Juventus half. Isco received an earful from the referee for a foul on Carlos Tevez.

35' - Marcelo found himself manning the midfield and Isco drifting to left. But nothing worthy happened for them as Juventus regrouped in time to counter the move.

34' - Both the sides using the left flank to create majority of their respective attacks. Stephan Lichtsteiner and Claudio Marchisio combined well for Juventus. From the counter-attack, Real Madrid almost broke loose but, then again, Juventus got their own counter. Marchisio tried a long ranger, which missed the target.

32' - Claudio Marchisio conceded another foul.

30' - Ronaldo to out-run two Juventus defenders on the left, but his cross from the near flag failed to reach desire position.

29' - Some frenetic defending from Juventus players. Just relieved themselves of a dangerous situation from a Real Madrid corner.

28' - Marcelo has been the catalyst for the visitors. Once again, he moved forward to create some space in the midfield.

26' - GOAL! Marelo overlapped on the left, then released a cross-field ball. From the play, James Rodriguez lofted a ball, to find Cristiano Ronaldo waiting in front of the goal-mouth and happily headed home the equaliser. His 54th for the season, and ninth in the competition.

25' - A little period of rebuilding from Real Madrid players. Isco found himself unmark in the left flank, but his cross was blocked by a vigilant Juventus player. Moments ago, Juvnetus got their, probably, fifth attempt on the goal.

24' - Another opportunity for Alvaro Morata, who outmuscled Raphael Varane. From the clerance, Ronaldo got the ball inside the Juventus half. His attempt flew wide of the target.

22' - Isco produced a little dummy in Real's own hlaf. Then, pushed forward as at least six and seven team-mates joined him in the attack. But the build up failed to trouble Juventus.

20' - Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, for the first time in the match, combined to breach the Juventus defence.

19' - Claudio Marchisio conceded a free-kick to Real Madrid just outside the box with a foul. James Rodriguez curled the delivery, but Real once again failed to capitalise from it.

17' - Goal scorer Morata was penalised for a late lunge. From the re-start, Isco and Marcelo combined on the left before Stephano Sturaro won the ball in the centre. Sturaro then released the ball for an onrushing Tevez, who shot from a close range, but failed to hit the target.

14' - Isco won close ball in the centre, then he released James Rodriguez. The Colombian then tried a long-ranger, which was calmly collected by the seasoned Juventus goalie.

10' - From the restart, Real Madrid got their movement from the left flank and Marcelo tried a cross-field, but no Real Madrid players there to capitalise from it.

9' - GOAL! Alvaro Morata slotted home from a Carlos Tevez attempt.

7' - In this early phase, Stephan Lichtsteiner has controlling the midfield.

5' - Real Madrid got their second free-kick inside the first five minutes. But the attempt from Cristiano Ronaldo hit the wall. And seconds later, Morata got the better of Pepe in an aerial duel, then the former Madrid man tested Iker Casillas.

4' - First hit on target, from Real Madrid. The visitors have started winning lot more second balls and as a result, the midfield play has been shifted to Juventus half.

3' - Another teasing ball for Vidal, from the right flank, which he missed by whisker in front on the Real goal-mouth. Pepe did enough to clear the ball.

2' -  From the resultant goal-kick, Real got their response with a high ball forcing Buffon to take an jump.

1' - Arturo Vidal almost got the first say in the match. Juventus players asked for a penalty, but the referee deemed the tackle inside the Real box legal. Tense moments in the Real ranks.


Juventus are in their traditional white and black, while Real Madrid are in their new blacks. And the players are out.

English referee Martin Atkinson will conduct the match. He was also the referee in Real Madrid's 2-0 win at Schalke, and Juventus'3-2 win over Olympiacos in Turin.

Team line-ups are here:

Juventus XI: Gianluigi Buffon, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Patrice Evra, Claudio Marchisio, Andrea Pirlo, Stephano Sturaro, Arturo Vidal, Carlos Tevez, Alvaro Morata

Subs: Marco Storari, Andrea Barzagli, Simone Padoin, Simone Pepe, Roberto Pereyra, Fernando Llorente, Alessandro Matri.


Real Madrid XI: Iker Casillas, Dani Carvajal, Raphael Varane, Pepe, Marcelo, Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale, Isco, James Rodriguez, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Subs: Kaylor Navas, Lucas Siva, Javier Hernandez, Alvaro Arbeloa, Jese, Fabio Coentrao, Asier Illaramendi.


Finally, world's greatest club football tournament has entered it's final stretch and in the first leg of first semi-final, Juventus will welcome Real Madrid in Turin. Both the teams have done more than enough to justify their presence in the final four line-up in this prestigious competition.

In the run-up to the semi-final, the Italian outfit has stream-rolled their domestic opponents to capture four back-to-back Serie A title, while the defending champions from Madrid continue their brilliant scoring form despite trailing La Liga title fight by two points to their eternal rivals Barcelona.

However, the first leg at Turin will witness Carlo Ancelotti's Real starting as slight favourites considering the way they have pummeled their opponents in the previous rounds of the competition. In contrast, Massimiliano Allegri's Italian champions have had a tough path to the last-four.

But the clash at Juventus Stadium will be a classic in its own right. Both the sides, under their hugely experienced managers, have their own super-stars besides hordes of unsung, but proven match-winners.

Juventus and Real Madrid have met 16 times in the continental competitions, with the Spanish giants victorious in eight games to Old Lady's seven, and one drawn match. The only draw during their last meeting, 2-2 in Turin in November 2013.

But in the Champions League (since 1992), they have played each other only six times and in the last meeting, the Italian side got the better of Madrid in the semis in 2003.


Possible lineups:

Juventus: Gianluigi Buffon (capt.); Stephan Lichtsteiner, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Patrice Evra; Claudio Marchisio, Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal; Roberto Pereyra; Alvaro Morata, Carlos Tevez.

Out: Kwadwo Asamoah (knee), Martin Caceres (ankle), Luca Marrone (thigh), Paul Pogba (hamstring), Romulo (groin)

Real Madrid: Iker Casillas (capt.); Dani Carvajal, Pepe, Raphael Varane, Marcelo; James Rodriguez, Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos, Isco; Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Out: Luca Modric (knee), Karim Benzema (knee)