Ancelotti calls for Real patience
Print Edition
COACH Carlo Ancelotti said Real Madrid will need “patience” and the full support of the Bernabeu when it hosts Juventus next week looking to secure a second successive Champions League final.
Real was crowned European champion for a record 10th time last year with a 4-1 drubbing of city rival Atletico in Lisbon.
But a 1-2 defeat to Juventus in Turin — complete with an opening goal from ex-Real striker Alvaro Morata — has given the Spanish giant food for thought ahead of next week’s decisive return leg.
Morata, who moved to Juventus in the summer, refused to celebrate when he opened the scoring with a tap-in after goalkeeper Iker Casillas had pushed Carlos Tevez’s angled strike into his path.
Cristiano Ronaldo, with his 76th goal in the competition, levelled on 27 minutes with a simple header as Juventus’ defense went missing, only for Tevez to seal the win from the penalty spot just before the hour after being felled in the area.
Real has the benefit of a precious away goal, but after seeing his side struggle to find its feet before finally taking command when it was already too late, Ancelotti said he expects a different Real side next week.
“We made more mistakes than normal, that was because of Juve’s pressing. Their line was higher in the second half. But we’ll be confident because we are playing at home and the fans there will help us. We have to be patient. The result is a negative one but not such a bad one.”
Morata, who moved from Real to Juventus last summer, was subdued after opening the scoring on eight minutes.
His response was understandable. It was Ancelotti who gave the 22-year-old more playing opportunities at Real, including a cameo appearance in the Champions League final last year which earned him a winner’s medal.
“I didn’t celebrate because of my past” with Real, said Morata, who insisted that despite Juventus’ “great performance” the Old Lady of Turin can’t quite celebrate just yet. “We put in a great performance but we haven’t achieved anything yet. In the return leg Real will be on top form at home, as always.”
Compared to Real and despite its prestige as Italy’s top club on the domestic front — Juventus secured its 31st Serie A title last Saturday — the Turin giant is a relative failure in Europe’s premier club competition.
Against Real’s 10 triumphs, Juventus has two victories from 1985 and 1996, and has finished runner-up five times.
Fresh belief in the club’s European ambitions has swept in following the arrival of coach Massimiliano Allegri, who replaced Antonio Conte in the summer. Where Conte failed — taking Juventus as far as the quarterfinals in 2013 before bowing out to eventual winner Bayern Munich — Allegri has already succeeded.
It was Juventus first semifinal since 2003, when it ousted Real in the semis before failing at the final hurdle, a penalty shootout, against league rival AC Milan.
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