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Former Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata's second-half goal was enough to secure a draw that saw Juventus go through to the final of the UEFA Champions League. Reigning champions Real Madrid took the lead through Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty, but were unable to score any more and had their title dreams dashed in the process.
The Italian champions came into the second leg with a 2-1 advantage, but knew that their job was far from done. Although the hosts put them under a lot of pressure, once Morata scored the equalizer in the second half, Los Blancos lost their way. Carlo Ancelotti's side resorted to playing long hopeful balls and didn't have the composure needed to break down a resolute Bianconeri defence.
This victory means that the Juventus are now the first non-Spanish team to beat La Liga opposition over two legs in 13 ties in the competition and will face Barcelona in the final in Berlin on 6 June.
Here are the major talking points from the game:
1. Team vs Individuals
Madrid's defeat means that no team has defended their Champions League title since the tournament was reformatted in 1992. We saw that over the course of the two legs, the better team went through to face Barcelona in the final in Berlin. While there is no denying the star quality present in the Real side, football is a team sport and irrespective of the amount of incredible individuals you have, if you don't function as a team, then you will always be punished.
That is precisely why a team consisting of some of the world's best attackers couldn't find a way past Juventus once they scored a crucial away goal at the Bernabeu. Paul Pogba, one of Europe's finest midfielders was ready to do the dirty work of defending the flank and providing his compatriot Patrice Evra with some cover.
Although the Frenchman didn't always do his job well, there was always someone else on the cover, helping out the side. Once they scored the away goal, everyone helped out in defence and even Tevez, who was supposed to be the centre forward dropped into midfield and at times, even his own box to help secure safe passage into the side's first European final since 2003.
2. Morata makes his mark in Madrid
The clash between Real Madrid and Juventus was supposed to be about two historic European giants taking on each other. It was supposed to be about two World Cup winning central midfielders in Andrea Pirlo and Toni Kroos, two ageing, but, still very good goalkeepers in Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon, Carlos Tevez against Karim Benzema, but it was decided by a 22-year-old Spanish striker who was ushered out of Real Madrid last summer.
Alvaro Morata, who joined Madrid at the age of 16 and came through the ranks before moving at the start of this season, described his passage into his second consecutive Champions League final as a “bittersweet and strange sensation”. He scored the opening goal for the Italian side in both legs and worked tirelessly until he was substituted for Fernando Llorente.
On a day that was filled with plenty of storylines and drama, it was a former Madrid player who came back to haunt Real by showing them that he could still cut it at the highest level.
3. What a difference a year makes for Gareth Bale
The cross came in from the left wing, Gareth Bale rose up above the defender and headed the ball into the net to give his side the lead and send them on course for their 10th European trophy. Fast forward a year, Bale was presented with a similar opportunity to score to keep Real in this year's competition, but his header flew over the bar. His effort goes on to prove that when it isn't your day, it is those inches that are the difference between being a match winner and being blamed for the side's exit.
If the Welshman was criticized last week for being anonymous, his performance on Wednesday ensured that the same couldn't be said again. His seven shots were the second-most that any player had taken in the Champions League this season and was a measure of how desperate he was to get involved throughout the game.
But try as he might, things simply didn't go his way. He shot wide from close range, his flicks didn't always find their target and at times over-ran the ball on a night in which he found impossible to live up to the expectations that he set himself after last season.
4. Will this mark the end for Ancelotti?
“I don't know if I will be here next season. We have 15 days left and two games, after that we will speak with the club.” Those were the words of Carlo Ancelotti after his side failed to make it to back-to-back Champions League finals. Few would have imagined those words to come out of the Italian manager's mouth especially considering their form through the autumn. Not only had they racked up 22 consecutive wins, but were blowing teams away and were looking on course to eclipsing last season's performance.
But now, this defeat, coupled with the draw against Valencia on Saturday, means that in the space of a few days, they have gone from chasing a double to staring at the distinct possibility of finishing the season without any silverware. Given the fact that managers at Real, have been sacked even when they have won trophies, ala Fabio Capello, it remains to be seen whether Ancelotti can survive a season without silverware.
Whether Florentino Perez is willing to give the Italian, who won the Champions League last season, time is one of the many questions that will need answering in a summer that promises to be filled with plenty of arrivals and departures at the club.
5. Do Real Madrid need a new set-piece specialist?
When you type the words “Roberto Carlos” on Google, the second result you get is a link to the video of his sublime free kick for Brazil against France. While it is true that there haven't been too many free kicks hit better than that, it overshadows the fact that the Brazilian fullback spent the rest of his career trying to unsuccessfully replicate the same and the result was lots of rubbish free kicks that either hit the wall or went into the stands. The same now is true for Ronaldo, who now seems to be living on past glory when it comes to taking set-pieces.
Now every time the referee blows his whistle anywhere near the penalty box, Ronaldo steps up with his chest puffed out in his trademark style looking to score, but instead ends up booting the ball into the stands or into the wall much like Carlos did for most of his career. Although his deflected free-kick almost gave Real a lead in the first half, had it gone in, it would have been an aberration, not the norm.
The forward's effectiveness at taking free kicks have slowly started to wane over the last couple of years and those that do go in seem to be a result of persistence and law of averages rather than due to skill. In his last 54 free kicks, he has scored from just one and it might finally be time for someone else to have a go.
