Champions League semifinal – Real Madrid 1-1 Juventus (2-3 on aggregate)
Coach Allegri (Juventus) on the game:
“The lads really deserve the praise. It’s an amazing night for them and for Italian football in general. I’m starting to realise just what a tremendous season we’re having – perhaps beyond what anyone ever expected. We did expect the game to go the way it did, although we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. It was one of those nights where you need to combine courage with a first-rate performance.
“Maybe we’re still not aware of our full potential but we were superb in both legs of this semi-final. We created chances, and came under a bit of pressure at times. It was a battle between two highly technical sides. Real whizz the ball around at lightning speed – it’s tough to play against. In the first half we had a lot of possession. We could have done a bit better between the lines, but as I said we were up against top-quality opponents.
After the break, apart from a few occasions, we kept it tight and didn’t let them in very often. We have a Coppa Italia final coming up which is hugely important for us. Then we have this massive game in Berlin. We’ve got to the final by believing in our ability and that belief has grown and grown. Anything can happen in a one-off match. We’ll see which team is in the best shape in a month’s time.”
Coach Ancelotti (Real Madrid) on losing the trophy:
We gave everything we had to win this game. We fought, worked hard and played well. We had a lot of opportunities and I have nothing to reproach my team for. We’re sad about the result but we have to look ahead to the next two games”.
“What I’ve seen in the last two games on a physical level, above all in the second half, is that the team have given a lot physically because they have had to come from behind. Tonight we had a lot of shots, but few on target. With a little bit more freshness it’s possible that we would have been a bit more clinical”.
We had chances to score. In the latter stages it was trickier. We attacked well using the wings, but we weren’t clinical. The team put in a really great effort”.
