Just like that it was over. Juventus had done everything they possibly could to overturn their first leg deficit, running out to a 3-0 lead at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu thanks to goals from Blaise Matuidi and a Mario Mandzukic brace. Extra time seemed imminent, and then Cristiano Ronaldo did what Cristiano Ronaldo does. Out-leaping Alex Sandro at the far post, he headed the ball back into the middle of the box where, inexplicably, the Bianconeri central defenders were nowhere to be found.
With Lucas Vázquez bearing down on goal, Medhi Benatia had little choice but to challenge from behind. What happened next largely depends on which team you support as either he won the ball only to see a soft/dubious/outrageous penalty awarded, or his mistimed the tackle and bundled over the Spanish winger.
Juve skipper Gigi Buffon exploded, venting his frustration on the referee and he was ultimately shown a red card for his actions. A full five minutes elapsed as Gonzalo Higuain was substituted, Wojciech Szczęsny made his way onto the pitch and match official Michael Oliver attempted to restore some semblance of order so the game could continue.
Throughout it all, Ronaldo just stood waiting. As all around him lost their heads, Rudyard Kipling would surely insist that the Portuguese displayed the requisite amount of stoicism to inherit “the Earth and everything that's in it.” He thumped home the spot kick with an incredible amount of power, nonchalantly shrugging off concerns that the pressure would be too great before dispensing with his shirt and flexing in the corner.
It was a snapshot of all the qualities that single him out as an entirely unique talent, but it was a goal that broke Juve’s hearts once again. After Berlin, Cardiff and now this last-minute defeat, there is little wonder that club President Andrea Agnelli, his no.2 Pavel Nedved, Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini all lashed out in their post-game comments.
If you support another club, you might be tempted to speak about their lack of professionalism, or even hark back to the Calciopoli Scandal and wonder how a club who were relegated for influencing match officials could be so quick to bemoan their treatment at the hands of a referee here. Stop. Just stop. At the highest levels, in the most intense moments, surely we crave athletes who want to win at all costs and refuse to accept defeat? Would Ronaldo or his manager Zinedine Zidane walk away meekly if the circumstances were reversed?
Marco Materazzi can probably answer for the latter, but the stark truth is that Juve’s performance in the first leg reveals far more about where they currently stand and the work they have left to do in order to end what is already a 22-year wait for the ultimate moment of glory. Indeed, Buffon’s sustained emotional outburst probably owes more to the realisation that he will now never lift the Champions League trophy rather than a genuine concern over whether or not Mister Oliver is a human being or a chip-eating, sprite-drinking animal.
Yes, for 92 minutes on Wednesday, the Bianconeri played the current holders off the park, but that should not be allowed to cloud judgements about what they must do in order to prevent these repeated exits at the hands of Europe’s truly giant clubs. Since returning to the Champions League in 2012, their participation in the knockout rounds has been ended twice by Real Madrid, twice by Bayern Munich and once by Barcelona.
There should be no shame in reaching the final twice in the space of three seasons, but as UEFA’s elite competition becomes the ultimate yardstick, the need to succeed in this competition is becoming increasingly apparent. Paris Saint-Germain feel it after years of dominating Ligue 1, Manchester City under Pep Guardiola are already looking beyond the Premier League for validation, while the Catalan was replaced at Bayern because the Bavarian club crave another continental crown so dearly.
So when tempers calm and cool heads prevail, nothing has truly changed from the first leg, nor from the fallout of last season’s final in Cardiff. Juve went up against the best and, whatever you believe about that penalty decision, they came up short. Overcoming that gulf will – as this previous column explained – require heavy investment in a midfield which remains significantly weaker than the teams it must compete against.
They will regroup now and look to seal a seventh consecutive Serie A title and a fourth league-and-cup double on the spin, but even as they look to see off challenges from Napoli and Coppa Italia finalists AC Milan, their minds will be elsewhere. The “cup with the big ears” continues to elude them, but Juventus will be back next season for another attempt at lifting European football’s most prestigious trophy.
