The ref allows penalty for Real Madrid at the last second
It was an incredible night of football that ended in a disgraceful moment. The officials played a big role and this is never good when they do. Sadly for Juventus dream the referee in charged saw a foul in the penalty box in the last minute of the game. There will be pros and cons but giving a penalty at that moment of the game take the words out of the mouth.
We saw 90 minutes of an amazing game with such a brave effort from Juventus coming back from 3 goals down away from home and leveling it in Madrid. Real Madrid fans were muted and Italian chants were coming down from Estadio Bernabeu.
Ultimately, Cristiano Ronaldo converted the penalty to send his team to the semifinals.
Coach Allegri on the penalty and the elimination:
“We put in a wonderful performance. We did the same for an hour back in Turin too, it’s just that the result fooled everyone – but not me. We kept the door shut at the back and played very well tonight – we did really well to turn it around. I was sure we would after having seen our performance in the first leg.
There was no VAR tonight. We’ve lost – there’s not much more to add. The penalty tonight was a similar incident to the one involving [Juan] Cuadrado in the first leg.
There was a lot of confusion. We’re left with a bitter taste after coming within reach of extra time and being able to really go for it. I would have had two subs to work with – I’d held those back to change the game. That said, over the course of the two legs, I think both teams deserved to go through.”
Coach Zidane on the result:
“It wasn’t a strange game, but we didn’t expect to concede in the first minute. When that happens, heads drops and the opposition gain in confidence. They approached the game in the right way and we didn’t. We had problems controlling the game.
I knew we would be up against it, but I didn’t expect what happened in the first minute. We knew that we’d have to dig in against a side that put in a great performance and that press high up the pitch. I didn’t see us going out because I’m a positive person. I told my players we were going to be troubled, that it would be tricky.
It was a penalty, they’ve told me it was a penalty. I didn’t see it. The ref awarded it and we can’t change that, but I think it was a penalty. Cristiano is used to these situations. He doesn’t feel pressure. He scored the penalty and we got the win.
There is nothing left to say. We’re in the semi-finals and we’re happy with that. They played well but we were just average, the difference is we kept believing until the end. We deserved to go through to the semi-finals over the course of the tie and we can be pleased with that”.
