Juventus put on a stellar showing to beat Real Madrid 3-1 in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie at the Santiago Bernabeu.
However, it wasn’t enough as an injury-time penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo saw the hosts go through 4-3 on aggregate after a Mario Mandzukic brace and Blaise Matuidi strike had levelled the two-legged tie.
Massimiliano Allegri was spot on with his tactics, but Zinedine Zidane did just enough to edge the win.
STATS
REAL MADRID
Goals – 1
Shots – 18
Possession – 62%
Tackles – 11
Dribbles – 11
JUVENTUS
Goals – 3
Shots – 11
Possession – 38%
Tackles – 9
Dribbles – 13
30-SECOND REPORT
Zidane
The Frenchman deployed a 4-1-3-2 formation to begin with. Ronaldo and Gareth Bale started in attack with Isco in support. The system was designed to contain Juve and pounce on the counter-attack.
Indeed, when they did break they looked dangerous but the Italians defended superbly to cope with that threat. As a whole though, Madrid weren’t prepared for the kind of onslaught the away side launched and Zidane had to rethink his approach in the second period.
Allegri
The Juve boss stuck to a 4-3-3 formation and pushed his team forward as they attempted to force Madrid into errors. The hosts were caught off guard, while using Mandzukic’s aerial supremacy over Dani Carvajal was a clear ploy as well – he scored the opener.
Allegri then replaced Mattia De Sciglio with fellow right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner in the 17th minute, presumably to cope with Ronaldo’s threat and it was his cross that set up Mandzukic for the second.
Mario Mandzukic of Juventus celebrates
TACTICAL TALKING POINTS
Zidane
FORMATION CHANGE
Bale was not on his game and his substitution at half-time saw Ronaldo play up front on his own. Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio were introduced as Madrid switched to a 4-2-3-1, with Casemiro going off as well.
The move was meant to generate some width for Los Blancos as Juve comfortably coped with the two pronged attack of Bale and Ronaldo. Meanwhile, it also served to occupy the full-backs who were being allowed too much freedom to get forward as Lichtsteiner did so effectively for Juve’s second.
Allegri
CLOSING DOWN
Juve needed to start on the front foot and that’s precisely what they did.
They hassled and harried Madrid right from the start and enforced the high press as much as possible, putting pressure on the hosts’ defence missing the experience of Sergio Ramos.
Casemiro fell victim to their closing down early on and Sami Khedira’s delightful chip towards the far post saw Mandzukic make the breakthrough. Khedira and Matuidi in particular ran their socks off and didn’t allow Madrid’s midfield the time and space to find their rhythm.
Cristiano Ronaldo on the spot again.
VERDICT
Zidane
Was taken aback by the way Juventus started the game and from a tactical point of view was soundly beaten in the first half. However, his half-time changes seemed to steady the ship and offer his team a new dimension in attack though he rode his luck a bit.
Rating – 6/10
Allegri
Arrived at the Bernabeu with a perfectly laid plan and it was all going swimmingly. Even when Madrid got to grips with the scenario in the second half, Juve seemed to be in control before a penalty at the death cancelled out their hard work.
Rating – 7/10
