Real Madrid claimed a 0-0 draw in the Vicente Calderon against city rivals Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, while Juventus claimed a 1-0 victory over Monaco in the first legs of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal fixture.
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Both Spanish sides came out of their tie feeling disappointed to have claimed no advantage from what was a repeat of last year’s final despite a series of major chances at both ends.
Wales forward Gareth Bale was particularly culpable in the opening minutes of the encounter, with Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak standing up to make a fine save to deny his opponent who had raced through one-on-one.
Oblak was the hero soon after, saving his side again from a curled James Rodriguez effort low to his left before denying the Colombian once more after a clever Real move sent the No. 10 free on the left of the penalty area.
Atletico Madrid 0-0 Real Madrid FT: Shots(OT) 8(2) – 17(8), Possession, 46% – 54%, Rating 7.05 – 7.20 http://t.co/jKH6R42Bab
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) April 14, 2015
Shortly after half-time, however, the game swung in Atletico’s direction. Real had dominated the opening half of the encounter but Simeone’s charges came out fired up for the second half and that aggression at times threatened to create conflict.
When striker Mario Mandzukic was left bloodied following a stray elbow from Sergio Ramos the tie was in danger of spilling over into conflict with the Croat soon booked after a clash with Carvajal who was then seen to throw a punch at his opponent.
The fractious nature of the clash benefitted the hosts as goalkeeper Iker Casillas was forced to scramble to deny Mario Suarez and Antoine Griezmann in quick succession as Atleti pushed for a winner. Substitute Alvaro Arbeloa also made a fine stop to deny Mandzukic.
With neither side able to claim a breakthrough, the two teams will clash once more across the city in the Bernabeu next week in an attempt to secure a semifinal berth.
Elsewhere, Juventus took a small step towards securing their own place in the last four with a 1-0 victory over AS Monaco in Turin thanks to an Arturo Vidal penalty.
Monaco will feel they could have come away with more from their away clash following a series of first half chances, with Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco guilty of wasting a guilt-edged chance when one-on-one with goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
While they may have threatened to make a breakthrough, they were punished for their profligacy soon after the break when Ricardo Carvalho was adjudged to have fouled Alvaro Morata in the penalty area. Vidal stepped up to convert from the spot and give the Serie A side a lead in the tie.
#Jardim: “The result is a great injustice. #Juventus got a penalty that did not exist.” #JuveASM
— Robin Bairner (@RBairner) April 14, 2015
Both sides had opportunities to alter the scoreline late on but were denied by a combination of good goalkeeping and poor finishing. Monaco may have failed to secure an away goal but will feel they have a chance to overturn a narrow one-goal deficit at the Stade Louis II in Monte Carlo.
