Juventus 0-3 Real Madrid
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Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 25 goals in his past 13 games for club and country
Cristiano Ronaldo scored one of the Champions League's great goals as his incredible bicycle kick helped Real Madrid demolish Juventus in the quarter-final first leg.
The Real forward made history with the first of his two goals, prodding home Isco's cross to become the first player to score in 10 consecutive Champions League games.
The Italian side had chances to equalise in a decent first half, although Toni Kroos went close to doubling Real's lead when he hit the crossbar with a 25-yard effort.
Then came one of the great Champions League moments. Dani Carvajal lifted a cross to the Portuguese, who soared in the air and sent a flying acrobatic kick past Gianluigi Buffon, who had no chance.
Such was the brilliance of the strike that Juventus fans stood up to applaud the goal that probably ended their hopes of going through.
It got even worse for the Turin side, who lost last year's final to Real, as Paulo Dybala was shown a second yellow card for a high boot in the chest of Carvajal.
And Marcelo effectively booked Real's place in the last four when he played a one-two with Ronaldo before scoring from close range.
Ronaldo defies all logic with another masterclass
Cristiano Ronaldo is the Champions League's all-time top scorer with 119 - 19 clear of Barcelona's Lionel Messi
At the age of 33, Ronaldo no longer has great pace or much impact minute to minute in a match.
But, reinvented as an orthodox striker, he is in one of the greatest goalscoring streaks in football history - 19 goals in his last nine games for Real.
He has now scored 16 goals in his past 10 Champions League games - 14 goals this season and a double in last year's final against Juventus.
It took him only two minutes and 47 seconds to open the scoring in Turin, when he poked home Isco's low left-wing cross from six yards out.
He almost had a second when he smashed a ball across goal after good work from Karim Benzema.
His magic moment came in a move which he helped create himself. Giorgio Chiellini prodded a ball past his own keeper Buffon, which Ronaldo kept in play. He found Lucas Vazquez, whose shot was saved by Buffon. Unfortunately for Juventus the ball ran to Carvajal, whose cross was dramatically converted by Ronaldo.
The Portuguese, who only touched the ball 49 times in 90 minutes, had two chances for a hat-trick, first when he forced a save from Buffon from 16 yards and then when he shot over when totally unmarked 10 yards out from Vazquez's cross.
He is not just a goalscorer though, and set up Marcelo's goal - as well as laying the ball off to Mateo Kovacic, who hit the post.
Are Real now favourites for the trophy?
Despite domestic struggles, Real have almost an aura of invincibility in this competition. The European champions became the only team to successfully defend the Champions League when they beat Juve in Cardiff last season, the triumphs coming in Zinedine Zidane's first two campaigns in charge.
They are struggling in La Liga, sitting 13 points behind leaders Barcelona, and Zidane might have been sacked by now if hopes of a third Champions League in a row had gone.
And against Juventus, a side who had only lost once in their past 75 home matches, they put on a clinical show.
Real scored three of their five shots on target, also hitting the crossbar twice, with Raphael Varane heading a good chance over.
The only downside was a Sergio Ramos booking for a foul on Dybala, which means the defender is suspended for the second leg.
But their place in the last four is as good as booked - only two teams in Champions League history have won the first leg away from home and gone out. And both of those were 1-0 first-leg scorelines.
"It's not easy to put three goals past Juve on their own field. We put in a great performance, but Juve also did very well, put us under pressure and had the chances to score goals, but we were more clinical," said former Juve playmaker Zidane.
"Of course Juventus aren't happy with the result tonight, but I will always have Juve in my heart."
Juventus' good form comes to a crashing end
Juventus' hopes of winning their first Champions League since 1996 are surely at an end - with legendary 40-year-old keeper Buffon, who could retire this summer, likely to end his career having never lifted the trophy.
Manager Massimiliano Allegri admitted after the full-time whistle that it was "almost impossible" to progress.
They came into the game in top form - unbeaten in 25 games, winning 21 of those - and having recently gone top of Serie A above Napoli.
But they were caught cold by Real's quick start - as Marcelo found Isco in space down the left and his cross was turned home by Ronaldo.
They did play well for most of the first half and should have levelled when Gonzalo Higuain's close-range effort from Dybala's free-kick was brilliantly saved by Keylor Navas.
Juve, who have lost two of the past three finals, did not do much apart from that shot - a couple of weak penalty appeals, one of which led to Dybala's first booking for diving, aside.
Allegri said: "There is absolutely nothing to blame the boys for. We faced an extraordinary team with probably the best player in the world.
"Now we raise our heads, we think about the future and the league.
"For the first hour we also made a good game. But everything happened against us. They are really devastating, otherwise they would not have won so much in the past few years.
"Now it's almost impossible."
Man of the match - Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
The only candidate for man of the match, Ronaldo (right) has scored nine of his past 11 shots on target against Buffon
Match stats - 56-year run comes to an end
Real Madrid won away against Juventus for the first time since February 1962, ending a run of seven without a win.
This was Juventus' first defeat when playing at home in the first leg in European competition since that loss in 1962, ending a run of 61 games.
Juventus conceded three goals in the home leg of a Champions League knockout tie for the first time since their 1999 semi-final defeat by Manchester United (3-2).
It was also the biggest home defeat they have suffered since moving into their new stadium in September 2011, last losing at home by such a margin in January 2011 (4-1 v Parma).
Ronaldo has now scored nine Champions League goals against Juventus - no player has scored more against a single opponent in the competition (he also has nine against Bayern Munich and Barcelona's Lionel Messi has nine against Arsenal).
Dybala's red card was Juventus' 24th in the Champions League - at least five more than any other team.
What's next?
The second leg is at Real's Bernabeu home next Wednesday (19:45 BST).
Before then, Real face city rivals Atletico Madrid in a Sunday derby - with Juventus playing Serie A's bottom team Benevento on Saturday.
- Published4 April 2018
- Published28 March 2018
