Champions League semis leg 1: Juventus 2-1 Real Madrid
Coach Juventus – Allegri reacts:
“I’m really pleased with the lads’ performance tonight. It’s a deserved reward from a game that wasn’t easy. They played with extraordinary intensity and afforded Real very little. I can only take my hat off to them.
“It’s a pity we didn’t get a third, as there were a couple of moments when we could have been better with our final ball. But we defended really well with our back four tonight. It wasn’t easy for me to leave Barzagli out but I had a choice to make. When he comes on he’s able to instantly get into the swing of things.”
Coach Real Madrid – Ancelotti reacts:
“We could have played better, throughout the game we tried to play efficiently and with quality. We wanted to control the match but were unlucky with the counterattack that made it 2-1”.
1-1 would have been a good result. We played an attacking game, but it became difficult to find space and Juve were extremely dangerous on the break. They are in great form at the moment. Last season we played them in the group stage while this year it’s a two-legged semi-final. They are a very well organised team at the back. It is difficult to find a way of breaking them down, it requires patience”.
“This result does not fill us with joy but we are confident about turning things around in the Santiago Bernabéu. We looked good when we passed the ball around and carved out chances, but Juventus are dangerous on the break”.
