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There were problems throughout the Blancos' team as Carlo Ancelotti's side threw away a golden opportunity to take an advantage back to the Santiago Bernabeu next week...
Real Madrid live to fight another day. The European champions' shaky defence of their continental crown continued with a narrow defeat at Juventus on Tuesday night. It should have been better for Carlo Ancelotti's side - but it could have been much worse.
Juve controlled the opening phases of this game and had Madrid on the rack, particularly after Alvaro Morata had given the Italians the lead against his old club. But when Cristiano Ronaldo restored parity with a headed equaliser, the game was there for Real to win.
James Rodriguez rattled the crossbar with a diving header late in the first half. It was a key moment, perhaps a turning point. Nevertheless, the initiative was with Madrid at the break. But in the second half, Juve took advantage of Real's defensive deficiencies.
Earlier this week, coach Carlo Ancelotti was asked to compare Sergio Ramos to the great defenders he has managed - Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta, Thaigo Silva and John Terry among them - and surprisingly concluded that the Spain centre-back is "the most complete" of them all.
For the third important game in a row, however, Ramos started in midfield. That, in itself, was a damning indictment of so-called specialist defensive midfielders Asier Illarramendi (signed for €38m), Sami Khedira (€14m) and Lucas Silva (€14m) by Madrid in recent seasons.
Ramos gave the ball away constantly in a dreadful display that merely served to highlight how Madrid are still struggling to come to terms with the loss of Xabi Alonso in big games, with no real replacement ready to step in. Perhaps the best one of all is Casemiro, but he has inexplicably spent the season on loan at Porto.
Behind Ramos, there were plenty of other problems. Raphael Varane is out of sorts, his head apparently turned by talk of a summer transfer. Meanwhile, Marcelo was exposed by Juventus as the Italian side had planned, with notes from Massimiliano Allegri's assistant caught by a Marca cameraman reading "Madrid's left side is weak" ahead of this match. And Dani Carvajal's clumsy challenge gave Carlos Tevez the spot-kick that allowed him to win the game from the penalty spot.
There was absolutely no need for the right-back to dive in and Ancelotti's doubts over the defender - who was the last man and extremely lucky to stay on the pitch - appear justified at times like these.
Further forward, James and Isco impressed, with the latter setting up the former for the great chance that hit the bar late in the first half. But both players are most comfortable operating behind a striker and Madrid's midfield lacks the necessary balance in games like these - especially with Luka Modric missing through injury.
Perhaps Madrid's poorest player of the entire evening, however, was Gareth Bale. The Welsh winger is back from injury and his return was supposed to be a boost. Instead, he displaced the in-form Chicharito in the starting line-up and was conspicuous by his absence for most of the night's action.
Effective as part of a front three, Bale looked lost in a two alongside Ronaldo and has never been truly at home for Madrid out on the right. With Cristiano spending most of his time in the centre these days, the former Tottenham midfielder should start in his favoured position on the left. As it stands, however, he doesn't deserve to be in the team.
So there is plenty of food for thought for Ancelotti ahead of the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. The good news is that Madrid won't play away in the Champions League again this season.
But the bad news is that, with a performance like this one, it is hard to see how they will overcome Juventus next week - let alone Barcelona or Bayern Munich in the final.
Watch video post match reaction below
Source: Goal
Real Madrid live to fight another day. The European champions' shaky defence of their continental crown continued with a narrow defeat at Juventus on Tuesday night. It should have been better for Carlo Ancelotti's side - but it could have been much worse.
Juve controlled the opening phases of this game and had Madrid on the rack, particularly after Alvaro Morata had given the Italians the lead against his old club. But when Cristiano Ronaldo restored parity with a headed equaliser, the game was there for Real to win.
James Rodriguez rattled the crossbar with a diving header late in the first half. It was a key moment, perhaps a turning point. Nevertheless, the initiative was with Madrid at the break. But in the second half, Juve took advantage of Real's defensive deficiencies.
Earlier this week, coach Carlo Ancelotti was asked to compare Sergio Ramos to the great defenders he has managed - Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta, Thaigo Silva and John Terry among them - and surprisingly concluded that the Spain centre-back is "the most complete" of them all.
For the third important game in a row, however, Ramos started in midfield. That, in itself, was a damning indictment of so-called specialist defensive midfielders Asier Illarramendi (signed for €38m), Sami Khedira (€14m) and Lucas Silva (€14m) by Madrid in recent seasons.
Ramos gave the ball away constantly in a dreadful display that merely served to highlight how Madrid are still struggling to come to terms with the loss of Xabi Alonso in big games, with no real replacement ready to step in. Perhaps the best one of all is Casemiro, but he has inexplicably spent the season on loan at Porto.
Behind Ramos, there were plenty of other problems. Raphael Varane is out of sorts, his head apparently turned by talk of a summer transfer. Meanwhile, Marcelo was exposed by Juventus as the Italian side had planned, with notes from Massimiliano Allegri's assistant caught by a Marca cameraman reading "Madrid's left side is weak" ahead of this match. And Dani Carvajal's clumsy challenge gave Carlos Tevez the spot-kick that allowed him to win the game from the penalty spot.
There was absolutely no need for the right-back to dive in and Ancelotti's doubts over the defender - who was the last man and extremely lucky to stay on the pitch - appear justified at times like these.
Further forward, James and Isco impressed, with the latter setting up the former for the great chance that hit the bar late in the first half. But both players are most comfortable operating behind a striker and Madrid's midfield lacks the necessary balance in games like these - especially with Luka Modric missing through injury.
Perhaps Madrid's poorest player of the entire evening, however, was Gareth Bale. The Welsh winger is back from injury and his return was supposed to be a boost. Instead, he displaced the in-form Chicharito in the starting line-up and was conspicuous by his absence for most of the night's action.
Effective as part of a front three, Bale looked lost in a two alongside Ronaldo and has never been truly at home for Madrid out on the right. With Cristiano spending most of his time in the centre these days, the former Tottenham midfielder should start in his favoured position on the left. As it stands, however, he doesn't deserve to be in the team.
So there is plenty of food for thought for Ancelotti ahead of the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. The good news is that Madrid won't play away in the Champions League again this season.
But the bad news is that, with a performance like this one, it is hard to see how they will overcome Juventus next week - let alone Barcelona or Bayern Munich in the final.
Watch video post match reaction below
Source: Goal