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23.10.2013 » Real Madrid 2-1 Juventus. Ronaldo brace tumbled 'La Vecchia Signora'
There was a special atmosphere in Madrid this Wednesday night, as the Merengues hosted and defeated Juventus by 2-1 in another UEFA Champions League fixture. "La Vecchia Signora" couldn't handle Cristiano Ronaldo's hunger for goal and the Portuguese forward netted a brace that delivered the 3 points to Real Madrid. One of the capital moments of the game took place in the beginning of the 2nd half though, with Chiellini being sent off with a straight red card, after an alleged elbow against Ronaldo. The result was already at 2-1, but that event naturally diminished Juventus chances from scoring the equalizer in a drastic way and Real Madrid limited to slow the pace and control the rest of the game. The fans at the Bernabéu may not have liked that sort of more passive stance from Ancelotti's men, but it certainly had to do with the fact a Barcelona vs Real Madrid fixture is on its way, as we'll have the first "Clasico" of the season being played next Saturday at the Camp Nou.
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Real Madrid vs Juventus
Real Madrid 2-1 Juventus goals and highlights video:
Ancelotti went into this game making a few rotations in the team when compared to previous line-up used against Malaga, last Saturday. Casillas returned to his spot, while Carvajal gave his place to Arbeloa on the right side of the defense, Modric came in for Isco and Benzema returned to the attack by replacing Alvaro Morata. Across the other side of the pitch, Juventus had also brought a quite strong line-up and ahead of this great match-up, no one doubted that we were all set for a true clash of the giants at a packed Santiago Bernabéu.
With two Italian coaches in the benches, it's almost common sense that scoring the first goal could turn out to be a capital factor in terms of determining the winner of the game. Probably with that in mind, the home side started the match at full throttle and got rewarded with an early goal still inside the first 5 minutes. Angel Di María got rid of a defender close to the left edge of Juventus penalty-area, served Ronaldo with a low pass and the Portuguese rounded Gianluigi Buffon with class, before striking the ball into an empy net.
Antonio Conte's men didn't drop their arms though and reacted quite well to the early adversity. Ronaldo's opener may have somehow worked as a wake-up call for the "Vecchia Signora" and the visitors slowly started taking over things at the Bernabéu. Andrea Pirlo was naturally Juve's main reference in midfield, but it was the firepower upfront that worried Madrid the most. The former Athletic Bilbao forward Fernando Llorente partnered up with the past Manchester United and Man City star Carlos Tevez and when these two strikers step onto the pitch for the same side, they hardly get shut for a whole 90-minute game.
The announced equalizer arrived in the 22nd minute of the first half and as expected, it all started being drafted on Andrea Pirlo's mind and feet. The Italian "maestro" found a huge gap on Real Madrid's left wing, just before sending in a strong pass for the former Barcelona player Martín Cáceres to catch it on the run. The Uruguayan controlled the ball and sent in a long cross to the far post, which would be met by Paul Pogba just a few instants before the ball crossed the end line for a goal kick. The former Man Utd midfielder still managed to head it and forced Iker Casillas to pull off a last resort save, which made him drop the ball a few meters ahead. Waiting for it was Fernando Llorente, who didn't lose time and immediately struck it past the Spanish goalkeeper, setting the 1-1 on the scoreline.
Things wouldn't get quiet just yet though and a few minutes later the Merengues would get back in front through a second goal from Cristiano Ronaldo. The home side earned a free-kick on the left attacking side, which Isco promptly got in charge of taking. As seen in many previous occasions, the Spaniard sent in a long curled cross into his opponent's penalty-area, which on a first look didn't seem to have caused any danger. However, and TV replays were quite helpful to spot what in fact happened, Chiellini had pulled Sergio Ramos by his shoulder, leading to the Sevillian defender to fall inside the area. The referee consulted one of his assistants before making the call and ended up deciding Madrid had a fair case to earn the penalty-kick. Unsurpringly, it was up to Cristiano Ronaldo to step up to the mark and the 28-year old ace seized the opportunity to beat Buffon for the second time on the night. With this goal, Ronaldo reached his 7th goal in this Champions League campaign, with only 3 games played thus far.
We wouldn't call it exactly a turning point, but one of the most important moments of this game happened in the beginning of the 2nd half, when Chiellini fouled Ronaldo in high speed, as the Portuguese was about to get past the Italian defender. The referee thought there had been a violent elbow on the face of the former Manchester United winger and pulled off a straight red-card for the Juve defender, leaving the visitors with an uphill task of facing Real Madrid with 10-men for roughly 40 minutes. The Italians necessarily became a lot less dangerous in the attack and Real Madrid was happy to slow down the rhythm of the game and by doing that, they not only controlled the result but they've also managed to rest most of the players that were on the pitch for what's coming next Saturday.
The "Clasico" kicks off 3 days from now (October 26), with a Barcelona vs Real Madrid being held at the Camp Nou and representing a golden chance for the Merengues to catch Barça in La Liga standings. Three points is all that stands between these two sides and with Cristiano Ronaldo absolutely on fire lately, Real Madrid hopes will surely be carried on by their man. With 57 goals in Europe's biggest club competition, CR7 has just become the UEFA Champions League 3rd top goalscorer of all-time after passing Ruud Van Nistelrooy (56 goals), and now only stands behind Barça's Lionel Messi (63 goals) and Raúl (71 goals). As for Ronaldo stats in all competitions for Real Madrid this season, the Portuguese star has already scored 15 goals: 8 in La Liga and 7 in the Champions League. Bring on that Clasico!
Real Madrid line-up vs Juventus:
Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas
Defenders: Marcelo, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Arbeloa
Midfielders: Illarramendi, Khedira, Modric
Attackers: Angel Di María, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema
| Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
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|---|---|---|
Real Madrid
|
vs
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Juventus
|
2 |
Goals |
1 |
12 |
Shots |
14 |
3 |
Shots on goal |
6 |
4 |
Corner kicks |
5 |
13 |
Fouls commited |
15 |
3 |
Yellow cards |
4 |
0 |
Red cards |
1 |
53% |
Ball possession |
47% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Real Madrid will be the much-awaited "El Clasico", for the Spanish League 'La Liga' against Barcelona, this Saturday (October 26, 2013). You can watch Juventus live stream, Barcelona vs Real Madrid, Liverpool vs WBA, Manchester United vs Stoke City and Crystal Palace vs Arsenal, all matches provided from our soccer and live football section.
Real Madrid next game:
Barcelona vs Real Madrid kick-off time (26-10-2013):
Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 23:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+2: 18:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+1: 17:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-3: 13:00
New York (United States) | GMT-4: 12:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-7: 09:00
Beijing (China) | GMT+8: 00:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / theguadian.com / espnfc.com / nydailynews.com
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