Ancelotti wants Real patience
Carlos Tevez of Juventus celebrates after scoring during the Champions League semifinal, first-leg match between against Real Madrid at the Juventus Stadium in Turin, Italy, on Tuesday. Juventus won 2-1 and will go to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium for the return leg next week. Luca Bruno / AP |
Pressure on the defending champion after loss to Juventus
Coach Carlo Ancelotti said Real Madrid will need "patience" and the full support of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium when it hosts Juventus next week looking to reach a second successive Champions League final.
Real was crowned European champion for a record 10th time last year with a 4-1 drubbing of city rival Atletico in Lisbon.
But a 2-1 defeat to Juventus in Turin - complete with an opening goal from former Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata - has given the Spanish giant food for thought ahead of next week's decisive return leg.
Morata, who moved to Juventus in the summer, refused to celebrate when he opened the scoring with a tap-in after goalkeeper Iker Casillas had pushed Carlos Tevez's angled strike into his path at the back post.
Cristiano Ronaldo, with his 76th goal in the competition, leveled on 27 minutes with a simple header as Juve's defense went missing, only for Tevez to seal the win from the penalty spot just before the hour after being felled in the area.
Real has the benefit of a precious away goal but after seeing his side struggle to find its feet before finally taking command when it was too late, Ancelotti said he expects a different Real side next week.
"We made more mistakes than normal, that was because of Juve's pressing. Their line was higher in the second half," said Ancelotti.
"But we'll be confident because we are playing at home and the fans there will help us. We have to be patient. The result is a negative one but not such a bad one."
Subdued scorer Morata, who moved from Real to Juventus last summer, was subdued after opening the scoring on eight minutes.
His response was understandable. It was Ancelotti who gave the 22-year-old more playing opportunities at Real, including a cameo appearance in the Champions League final last year which earned him a winners' medal.
"I didn't celebrate because of my past (with Real)", said Morata, who insisted that despite Juve's "great performance" the Old Lady of Turin can't celebrate just yet.
"We put in a great performance but we haven't achieved anything yet. In the return leg Real will be on top form at home, as always.
"Ancelotti's team is the best team in the world so we have to give everything we can if we are to secure our place in the final."
Juve belief
Compared to Real and despite its prestige as Italy's top club on the domestic front - Juve secured its 31st Serie A title on Saturday - the Turin giant is a relative failure in Europe's premier club competition.
Against Real's 10 triumphs, Juve has two victories - 1985 and 1996 - and has finished runner-up five times.
Fresh belief in the team's European ambitions has swept into the club following the arrival of coach Massimiliano Allegri, who replaced Antonio Conte in the summer.
Where Conte failed - taking Juve as far as the quarterfinals in 2013 before bowing out to eventual winner Bayern Munich - Allegri has already succeeded.
It was Juve's first semifinal since 2003, when it ousted Real in the semis before failing at the final hurdle, a penalty shootout, in the final against league rival AC Milan.
Allegri has won plaudits for the tactical nous that has allowed Juve to get this far, with defender Patrice Evra saying: "Against a great Real side, we showed a lot of people what it means to play for a club like Juventus.
"A lot of that is down to Allegri, and the club's staff, who helped us prepare for this game in the best way possible. Our coach is just like us, he wants to get to the final."
Allegri could have influential French midfielder Paul Pogba - a target for Real and several other major European sides - back in time for the return leg.
But the Italian insisted that, without a goal, Juve's chances of reaching the final in Berlin look slim.
"Next Wednesday we'll be up against an extra-motivated Real side. I want to repeat, we have to play better than we did tonight.
"We have to score against them, otherwise reaching the final will be difficult."