The 2014-15 UEFA Champions League resumed Tuesday with the first leg of the quarterfinals.
Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid renewed their rivalry after meeting in the final last season. AS Monaco, which wasn’t expected to reach this stage of Europe’s elite club competition after drawing Premier League side Arsenal in the Round of 16, met Italian giants Juventus in front of a raucous crowd in Turin.
Here’s a recap of the two matches.
Real Madrid 0, Atletico Madrid 0
These Spanish rivals played to an entertaining draw at the Vicente Calderon. The hosts were led by Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who thwarted every scoring chance from Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and the rest of the Madrid attack. Oblak finished with eight saves.
Atletico should be content with the result, though. It will go to the Santiago Bernabeu needing only one away goal to put a lot of pressure on Madrid. For that to happen, Atletico will need a much better performance from Mario Mandzukic. The Croatian striker tallied zero shots, lost seven aerial duels and made seven fouls. That’s not good enough against a stingy Madrid back four.
Real also should be encouraged by its play despite not finding a way to beat Oblak. Los Blancos controlled 61 percent of possession and fired 17 shots toward goal, nine more than Atletico. If they are able to sustain this kind of attack in the second leg, it would be surprising if Madrid failed to advance.
Man of the Match: Madrid center back Raphael Varane had a 91 percent pass accuracy, three blocks and 16 clearances.
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Notes: Madrid defender Marcelo picked up a yellow card in the 89th minute and is suspended for the second leg as a result. Same for Atletico midfielder Mario Suarez, who was given a yellow card in the 85th minute.
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Juventus 1, AS Monaco 0
Juventus’ midfield gave an excellent performance, completing 532 passes for a 60-40 advantage in possession. The Serie A club scored the only goal when Arturo Vidal capitalized from the penalty spot in the 57th minute, but it didn’t happen without controversy.
Monaco defender Ricardo Carvalho fouled Alvaro Morato, but it appeared the contact occurred outside of the box. As you might imagine, Monaco was not pleased with the referee’s decision.
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Juventus will take its 1-0 lead into the second leg, which will be played Wednesday, April 22, in France. The Bianconeri haven’t reached the semifinal stage since 2003.
Man of the Match: Vidal scored the only goal, won six tackles, tallied six shots and had an 87 percent pass accuracy.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@FoxSoccer
