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Brazilian boost Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo give Real 2-1 win over JuvePosted: Tuesday May 06, 2003 4:40 PMUpdated: Tuesday May 06, 2003 6:15 PM
MADRID (Reuters) -- A brilliantly struck but controversially awarded goal from Roberto Carlos earned Real Madrid a 2-1 victory over Juventus in a tense Champions League semifinal first leg on Tuesday. Real, looking to take a step closer to what would be a 10th European Cup win, moved ahead after 23 minutes at a rain-swept Bernabeu when the ball broke to Ronaldo outside the area and the Brazilian tucked a shot past Gianluigi Buffon. Juventus poached an equalizer through David Trezeguet just before halftime and the Italians took command after the break. The tide turned on 73 minutes when Roberto Carlos let fly from outside the area with a left-foot thunderbolt. At least three Real Madrid players were in offside positions, possibly blocking the view of Buffon, but after consulting with his linesman, referee Terje Hauge ruled the goal as valid. Real might have added to their lead, with Luis Figo forcing a classy save from Buffon in the 90th minute and Ivan Helguera just failing to turn in a Roberto Carlos cross seconds later. The result gives Real a slim advantage to take to Turin for the second leg but with an away goal Juventus are still very much in the hunt for a place in the final against either AC Milan or Inter Milan in Manchester on May 28. Real and Juventus were meeting for the first time since the Spanish club's victory in the Champions League final in 1998 -- the first of three European Cup wins in five seasons for Real. Zinedine Zidane was a Juventus player on that occasion but, now in the white of Madrid, the French midfielder was for long periods the main obstacle blocking his former club's hopes of revenge. Outstanding Zidane Zidane was outstanding throughout, keeping the Juve defense on guard with a series of quick passes out to Figo on the right and Roberto Carlos on the left and tackling back to limit the influence of his Czech replacement Pavel Nedved. Zidane came close to opening the scoring on 15 minutes when his curling free kick was nervously pushed away by Buffon. The goal was not long coming, as the ball broke to Ronaldo after Mark Iuliano tackled Fernando Morientes on the edge of the box. The Brazilian striker immediately pounced to side-foot the ball in at Buffon's near post. Fernando Morientes missed a great chance to put the reigning European champions two up when he was put through by Ronaldo on 44 minutes only to blast his shot over the bar. A few seconds later, Juventus were level. Alessandro Del Piero collected a high ball from the right and took a shot that deflected off Michel Salgado and straight to Trezeguet, who gratefully bundled it in. Ronaldo was forced off through injury shortly after the break and with Raul missing after his recent appendix surgery the home side were short of their usual finesse in attack. Morientes forced a good save on 70 minutes and seconds later Roberto Carlos thudded a shot across the face of goal, with substitute striker Javier Portillo only just failing to get a touch at the far post. Roberto Carlos was more accurate in Real's next attack as he restored the Real Madrid lead with his superb strike. The linesman, who raised his flag, appeared set to rule out the goal but after just a short conversation Hauge let it stand in what may yet prove to be the decisive moment in the tie. Lippi plays down controversy of Roberto Carlos goalMADRID (Reuters) -- Juventus coach Marcello Lippi refused to get drawn into any criticism of the referee after Real Madrid's 2-1 victory over the Italians in the opening leg of their Champions League semifinal first leg. Three Real Madrid players were standing in offside positions as Roberto Carlos cracked in what turned out to be the winner in the second half. The linesman raised his flag but Norwegian referee Terje Hauge let the goal stand and Lippi accepted that as a judgement call. "It was the referee's decision," Lippi shrugged at his post-match news conference. "I wouldn't want to get into any debate." Speaking on Italian television, he added: "The linesman put his flag up as he saw three players in an offside position. "Unfortunately, the referee interpreted that they were not interfering with play. That is his personal judgement." Juventus defender Lilian Thuram also accepted the decision, saying the referee was probably correct in his reading of the situation.: "I think it was a goal," Thuram said. "None of the three offside players was blocking Buffon's vision." Roberto Carlos told Italian television he doubted the three Real players were interfering with play. "No, I don't think so," the Brazilian defender said. "It was a valid goal. The shot went straight in." Lippi said his side remained confident of reaching the final, despite their first leg defeat. "We played very well in the second half and I have great confidence that we can turn this around in the second leg," Lippi told reporters. "We'll have to be alert to Real Madrid's attacking ability and make sure we don't concede a goal but in general I think it will be a similar game in the return." Del Bosque: Real deserved more convincing winMADRID (Reuters) -- Real Madrid coach Vicente del Bosque said that he believed his side were unfortunate to only take a 2-1 victory away from their semifinal, first leg match against Juventus at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday. "It was a good match between two very strong sides," he said afterwards. "We played very well in the first half, had control of the ball and played well on the flanks. It was just a shame that we suffered the setback of their goal late in the first half. "In the end a 2-1 win has left us with a bit of a bad taste in our mouths as I think on the basis of our play we deserved a more comfortable win." Real took control after a cagey first quarter and grabbed the lead after 23 minutes when Ronaldo reacted sharply after the ball broke to him on the edge of the area and guided in past Juve keeper Gianluigi Buffon. They appeared to have Juve on the ropes and Fernando Morientes should have extended his side's lead in the 44th minute after Ronaldo had put him clear with a neat pass into the area, but the center forward skied his shot over the bar. And a lapse in concentration in the Real defense just before the break allowed the Italians to get back on level terms when French striker David Trezeguet reacted sharply to poke in from close range after the ball had ricocheted off Real defender Michel Salgado. Real struggled to find their rhythm at the start of the second half and suffered another setback when Ronaldo was forced off with what appeared to be a calf injury. But they pushed hard to restore their lead and left back Roberto Carlos gave them a slim advantage for the second leg when he cracked in from the edge of the area after a Luis Figo corner 17 minutes from time. "Their equalizer took some of our strength away," admitted Del Bosque. "At the start of the second half it was true that they had a bit more control of the game, but we managed to regain control and finished the game playing quite well. "It is clear that it is difficult to win a tie in the first leg when you are talking about two teams of this caliber," said the Real coach. "At the moment we have the advantage, but of course the tie will now be decided in Turin." SummaryReal Madrid 2 Juventus 1 - result Champions League semifinal, first leg Scorers: Real Madrid - Ronaldo 23, Roberto Carlos 73 Juventus - David Trezeguet 45 Halftime: 1-1; Attendance: 75,000 Teams: Real Madrid: 1-Iker Casillas; 2-Michel Salgado, 4-Fernando Hierro, 6-Ivan Helguera, 3-Roberto Carlos; 10-Luis Figo, 24-Claude Makelele, 14-Guti, 5-Zinedine Zidane; 9-Fernando Morientes (21-Santiago Solari 79), 11-Ronaldo (18-Javier Portillo 50) Juventus: 1-Gianluigi Buffon; 15-Alessandro Birindelli, 21-Lilian Thuram, 2-Ciro Ferrara, 13-Mark Iuliano (7-Gianluca Pessotto 46), 19-Gianluca Zambrotta, 5-Igor Tudor (16-Mauro Camoranesi 80), 8-Antonio Conte, 11-Pavel Nedved (18-Marco Di Vaio 82); 10-Alessandro Del Piero, 17-David Trezeguet Referee: Terje Hauge (Norway)
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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