Juventus will take a narrow lead into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final with Real Madrid next week after recording a 2-1 victory in Italy on Tuesday.
A header from Cristiano Ronaldo cancelled out an early Alvaro Morata strike, leaving the scores level at the break.
Carlos Tevez scored the game's decisive third goal just before the hour, however, when he converted from the penalty spot having been brought to the ground by Dani Carvajal.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action in Turin.
Match statistics
JUVE
Shots: 12
On target: 7
Possession: 47%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 19
REAL MADRID
Shots: 12
On target: 3
Possession: 53%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 13
Was the result fair?
Before the match, many predicted a tight fixture between two excellent sides, and that was indeed the case. Juventus started on the front foot and deserved to open the scoring through Morata, but it would be fair to say that Real Madrid grew as the first period developed and Ronaldo's leveller came during a strong spell for the holders. Real Madrid missed a glorious chance to make it 2-1 late in the first period when James Rodriguez rattled the crossbar and in truth, they struggled to make their mark in the early stages of the second half, with Juventus very much the team threatening to score a second goal.
Eventually the goal came in the 58th minute when Tevez converted from the penalty spot, which seemed to wake Real Madrid once again. The visitors were the team on the front foot in the latter stages, with Ronaldo and Javier Hernandez, who came off the bench, causing problems, but Juve's strong defensive unit stood firm. Statistics rarely paint a false picture in football and the fact that the home side had four more attempts on target is an indication that they just about deserved to shade the first leg here.
Juve's performance
The Italian side were of course still without key midfielder Paul Pogba, which allowed 22-year-old Stefano Sturaro to come into a midfield that also included Claudio Marchisio, Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo. Morata and Tevez were selected in attack, meanwhile, and both made their mark. It was Juve that started much the brighter, with Sturaro and Morata both coming close inside the opening seven minutes, before Morata made an impact against his former club. On first glance, the Spaniard looked offside when Tevez released his strike, but the flag stayed down and the forward opened the scoring from close range. Somewhat surprisingly, Juve dropped off after scoring, which allowed Real Madrid to push forward and eventually level when Ronaldo met a super cross from Carvajal. At that stage, it looked as if the visitors would go on to score a couple more.
Juve remained strong before the break, however, and started the second period on the front foot once again. Excellent work from Tevez forced the penalty, with the Argentine driving away from the Real Madrid defence before bringing a poor challenge from Carvajal. Having taken the lead, head coach Massimiliano Allegri introduced Andrea Barzagli - going three at the back in the process. That stifled Real Madrid late on, and Fernando Llorente had a glorious chance to score a third for the hosts in stoppage time, but his header form a Pirlo cross lacked power. In truth, Juve needed to record a positive result in Turin if they were to stand a chance in the second leg and backed by a vocal home support, they secured a narrow win.
Real Madrid's performance
There were no real surprises in the team selection for Real Madrid, with Gareth Bale starting ahead of Hernandez and Sergio Ramos continuing in midfield. Los Blancos know all about these type of fixtures, but they seemed a little shocked by Juve's quick start to proceedings. Ramos and Iker Casillas both had nervy starts to the game, which allowed the home side to gain an immediate foothold. In truth, it came as no real surprise when the Italians took the lead and it was poor marking from Real Madrid, who allowed Tevez all sorts of space just outside the box. In fairness to Carlo Ancelotti's side, however, they responded as the match developed and deservedly levelled through Ronaldo. As mentioned, the visitors had a stunning chance to move ahead late in the first period, but James somehow hit the crossbar from an Isco cross.
Ancelotti would have surely warned his side about another quick Juve start in the second period and that was again the case. It took a bit of time for the home side to score their second, but again it was poor defending from Real Madrid, with Carvajal ultimately diving in, which gave the referee an easy decision. Hernandez and Jese Rodriguez were both thrown on late on, but it just did not happen for Los Blancos in the final third. Ronaldo was always a threat, but Bale had a disappointing night, which was also the case for a couple of their midfielders. A 2-1 defeat away from home is far from a bad result in the knockout stages of the Champions League, but it is certainly not what Ancelotti would have wanted.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Carlos Tevez: In truth, this is not a difficult decision. Tevez's contract is fast running out at Juve, but he remains such a key player for the Italian outfit. It was the Argentine's powerful strike that led to Morata opening the scoring, while he won the second-half penalty, before rising to his feet and dispatching past Casillas. The 31-year-old just did not give the Real Madrid defence a moment to rest.
Biggest gaffe
There are a couple of obvious moments that stand out here, with James guilty of missing a point-blank header for Real Madrid in the first period. However, Carvajal has to be recognised in this section. Having been beaten by Tevez, the Spaniard just needed to stand his ground inside his own box, but the right-back decided to dive in on the striker, which brought the penalty and the game's third goal. It was a poor decision from a player that has had enough experience at this level to know better.
Referee performance
It was a bit of a mixed bag for referee Martin Atkinson. The Englishman only issued the one yellow card in the first period, but the home supporters were not happy with a number of decisions. Atkinson's involvement was much greater in a second half that brought six yellows, and the official was correct to award Juve a penalty. Carvajal was perhaps a shade fortunate not to be booked in conceding the spot kick and the Spaniard did receive a card in the 75th minute, which could well have been a second yellow. Both teams made their displeasure known at times, but Atkinson was in control for the most part.
What next?
Juve: Juventus could relegate Cagliari from Serie A when the two teams meet in Turin on Saturday.
Real Madrid: Los Blancos return to La Liga action on Saturday evening against Valencia.
Matt Law
