SPAIN: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Juventus chalk up their first win at Real Madrid in 46 years by beating the Spanish side 2-0 to qualify for last 16 of the Champions League
Record ID:
1531225
SPAIN: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Juventus chalk up their first win at Real Madrid in 46 years by beating the Spanish side 2-0 to qualify for last 16 of the Champions League
- Title: SPAIN: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Juventus chalk up their first win at Real Madrid in 46 years by beating the Spanish side 2-0 to qualify for last 16 of the Champions League
- Date: 7th November 2008
- Summary: (S1) MADRID, SPAIN (NOVEMBER 5, 2008) (REUTERS) REAL MADRID COACH BERND SCHUSTER ENTERING POST GAME NEWS CONFERENCE REAL MADRID COACH BERND SCHUSTER SEATED WAITING FOR QUESTIONS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BERND SCHUSTER, REAL MADRID COACH, SAYING: "It's true that luck wasn't with us in many situations like we have already said, but these are Champions League games. I think that we have to look at things. We have a good chance of passing through to the next round." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BERND SCHUSTER, REAL MADRID COACH, SAYING: "I would say it was much better than I hoped against Juventus, but in those games with one shot it's a goal. We needed four or five and we didn't score, and other small things. It's typical in the Champions League." REAL MADRID COACH BERND SCHUSTER LEAVING POST GAME NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 23rd November 2008 01:59
- Keywords:
- Location: Spain
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA68624JEYMV0FVMT5CT6AMW3E9
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Real Madrid went down by two unanswered goals as they hosted Juventus in their Champions League group H tie on Wednesday (November 5).
Real's coach Bernd Schuster said his team deserved more from the match after putting in a spirited performance but paid tribute to Juventus' defensive game.
"It's true that luck wasn't with us in many situations like we have already said, but these are Champions League games. I think that we have to look at things. We have a good chance of passing through to the next round," he said.
Real's German coach included Arjen Robben in his team but the Dutch winger was injured in the warmup and replaced by compatriot Royston Drenthe.
The Primera Liga champions sorely missed Robben's pace and penetration and found it hard to create chances, particularly in the second half,despite dominating for long periods.
Sergio Ramos almost equalised on 24 minutes but his half-volley flew over the bar. Fit-again striker Ruud van Nistelrooy blasted narrowly over before halftime and substitute Gonzalo Higuain sliced a Drenthe cross wide in the second half, and far from criticising his team's general attitude, Schuster placed the blame on the lack of luck in front of goal.
"I would say it was much better than I hoped against Juventus, but in those games with one shot it's a goal. We needed four or five and we didn't score, and other small things. It typical in the Champions League."
In contrast, Juventus went home with all three points.
Alessandro Del Piero scored two stunning goals to give Juventus a 2-0 victory which put the Italians through to the Champions League knockout stage.
The World Cup-winning striker grabbed the opener in the 2-1 win over Real in Turin two weeks ago and repeated the feat after 17 minutes at the Bernabeu, crashing a left-foot shot past keeper Iker Casillas as the defence backed off.
Del Piero's second came from a direct free kick on 67 minutes which he whipped past Real's badly-positioned wall into the left-hand corner of the net with Casillas rooted to the spot.
He almost had a third near the end when a close-range effort slipped past the post and the crowd rose as one to applaud the 33-year-old when he was substituted in injury time.
"The Bernabeu crowd applauded because when you have a great player who is performing superbly and giving his all for the team the colour of his shirt does not matter they applaud because they are applauding football, they are applauding a thing of beauty. The difficulty of playing in Spain is you have to win but you have to play well, too. Del Piero is a great player, and that's why they applaud him," Juve coach Claudio Ranieri explained in the post match news conference.
Despite grabbing a goal in each half Ranieri underlined the difficulty of playing a team like Real Madrid and the stated the perseverance was the key to getting good results.
"It's clear that two days ago, the situation wasn't the same.
Working seriously things can go wrong, but if you keep working seriously and with conviction the results will come. We weren't expecting so many consecutive draws, I didn't expect that, but we were very brave and we kept our calm and kept working," said the Italian.
With four matches played, Juve top Group H on 10 points. Real are second on six, Zenit St Petersburg have four and BATE Borisov of Belarus two. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None