It could hardly have been scripted any better. Could it? Juventus,
two nil down against Atletico Madrid, Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid– from the
first leg in Spain, were staring down the barrel of elimination from a
competition they have so longed to win in over two decades it has almost become
an obsession. Yes, it was plausible and indeed possible that the men from Turin
could turn it around, especially given the precedence set in recent weeks,
orchestrated by the likes of Manchester United and Ajax: teams seemingly on the
brink of exit, only to somehow swing the tie in their favour. Yes they stood a
chance if this was against many other sides. However, with Simeone’s ballsy, dogged
and resilient warriors as visitors, you could forgive many for not giving the
Old Ladies much of a chance. The odds, no matter how you looked at them, seemed
stacked against the Italian side. Atletico had never lost against Italian
opposition in the Champions League; they had a solid two goal cushion and an
uncompromising rearguard, the best defense in Europe. This was akin to a
mission pointing towards the impossible direction. Yet amidst the
why-they-will-fall-short gospel, one pertinent detail might have been lost in
it all. They were coming up against Cristiano Ronaldo. For those of an
Atletico Madrid persuasion, he was a familiar and unwanted foe indeed, bringer of
heartaches in the past. Was he going to dish out a dose of the same in spectacular
fashion? Could he lead Juventus to one of the most unlikely of comebacks? For
this he was bought, to propel Juve to the next level. Nights like this are what mark him out as one
of the greatest. As the home fans created a serenading and emotional atmosphere
before kick-off, with waving white and black flags and fireworks making for a
dazzling scene, the stage was set. It was a case of cometh the hour cometh the
man. This was his ritual and who else to perform the rites than one who has lifted
the ‘trophy with the big ears’ on four occasions. Over to you Ronaldo.
Ronaldo slammed the ball home with a powerful header to spark Juventus' comeback against Atletico Madrid
The Portuguese got the crowd fired up as his opener brought the Old Ladies back into the tie
From the off, you could tell the Portuguese was fired up for this. Hugging the left touchline, popping up on the right of the front three, sprinting with blistering pace into the box, he was at the forefront of everything good for Juventus going forward. The home side flew out of the blocks, strong in the tackle, pressing relentlessly to win back possession when it was lost, and pouring forward at every turn. Buoyed by the cacophony of noise created by the home support they searched for the opener with the relentlessness of a zealot. And Ronaldo led the charge. Within four minutes he made his presence felt. As the ball broke loose from a corner, Ronaldo challenged for the ball with Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak. In the ensuing scramble, it was swept home by Giorgio Chiellini. It seemed a legitimate goal but was disallowed for a foul on the goalie much to the chagrin of the home support. Yet a warning had been served by Juve’s number nine. And twenty-six minutes in, the comeback was sparked into life. There seemed little danger for the Atletico defence who had been resolute up till that point as Federico Bernadeschi broke forward with the ball down the inside left channel. He looked up and found a lurking Ronaldo taking up an intelligent spot at the far post. The cross that followed was an absolute peach, and the finish a commanding one. Ronaldo’s prowess in the air is well known still you had to admire the determination and strength shown in beating Juanfran to the header with ease. Not many do bully Atletico’s defence, Ronaldo is one of the few who can.
With Juventus back in the tie, Simeone’s men were under the cosh as wave after wave of striped white and black shirts poured forward, led by the commanding Ronaldo. Atletico defended defiantly. Last gasp, well timed, sometimes desperate tackles, whatever it took. It was a classic to behold. A battle of wills, contest of bravery mixed with determination, two super sides fighting for a last eight berth, in a game for little errors. One of fine, tight margins. The quintessential scenario came on the stroke of half time. Having been pegged back for much of the half, the visitors had some sustained period of possession in the Juventus defensive third with some neat interplay finally working the ball over to the right side to Santiago Arias. The cross to Alvaro Morata, who had pulled away from the Juve center backs to give himself space, was brilliant but the finish failed to match. That was the closest Atletico would come to grabbing a goal that would have changed the complexity of the tie, and in a flash it was gone. Juventus were halfway to leveling the tie, but still they had their work cut out.
Ronaldo added another in the second half to peg the tie at 2-2 on aggregate
From the off, you could tell the Portuguese was fired up for this. Hugging the left touchline, popping up on the right of the front three, sprinting with blistering pace into the box, he was at the forefront of everything good for Juventus going forward. The home side flew out of the blocks, strong in the tackle, pressing relentlessly to win back possession when it was lost, and pouring forward at every turn. Buoyed by the cacophony of noise created by the home support they searched for the opener with the relentlessness of a zealot. And Ronaldo led the charge. Within four minutes he made his presence felt. As the ball broke loose from a corner, Ronaldo challenged for the ball with Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak. In the ensuing scramble, it was swept home by Giorgio Chiellini. It seemed a legitimate goal but was disallowed for a foul on the goalie much to the chagrin of the home support. Yet a warning had been served by Juve’s number nine. And twenty-six minutes in, the comeback was sparked into life. There seemed little danger for the Atletico defence who had been resolute up till that point as Federico Bernadeschi broke forward with the ball down the inside left channel. He looked up and found a lurking Ronaldo taking up an intelligent spot at the far post. The cross that followed was an absolute peach, and the finish a commanding one. Ronaldo’s prowess in the air is well known still you had to admire the determination and strength shown in beating Juanfran to the header with ease. Not many do bully Atletico’s defence, Ronaldo is one of the few who can.
With Juventus back in the tie, Simeone’s men were under the cosh as wave after wave of striped white and black shirts poured forward, led by the commanding Ronaldo. Atletico defended defiantly. Last gasp, well timed, sometimes desperate tackles, whatever it took. It was a classic to behold. A battle of wills, contest of bravery mixed with determination, two super sides fighting for a last eight berth, in a game for little errors. One of fine, tight margins. The quintessential scenario came on the stroke of half time. Having been pegged back for much of the half, the visitors had some sustained period of possession in the Juventus defensive third with some neat interplay finally working the ball over to the right side to Santiago Arias. The cross to Alvaro Morata, who had pulled away from the Juve center backs to give himself space, was brilliant but the finish failed to match. That was the closest Atletico would come to grabbing a goal that would have changed the complexity of the tie, and in a flash it was gone. Juventus were halfway to leveling the tie, but still they had their work cut out.
Few minutes of the
second half had been played when a cross this time from the right picked out who
else but Ronaldo. He showed Morata how it is done. A bullet header was too
powerful, too precise to stop, despite the valiant efforts of Oblak to prevent
the ball crossing the line. Goal-line technology however confirmed the goal.
Juventus were level plus with over thirty minutes of normal time still to play.
The defeatist look Diego Simeone wore said it all. His side had fought
unabashedly yet had been undone by two moments osf pure class and brilliance by
Ronaldo, yet again. Worse however was to come. The icing on a cake that, mind
you, had been made sweet by Ronaldo. With extra time looming, Juventus strained
every sinew of strength in search for the clincher, and Atletico knowing a goal
could make all the difference went for broke. Max Allegri brought on Moise Kean
and Simeone brought on Angel Correa. The former substitute went close to
scoring the decider. Clean through on goal, he could only watch agonizingly as
his left footed strike drifted just wide of the far post. It seemed like that
was it, but you could sense it, feel it, that Ronaldo’s time had not yet come.
This was his story and he was to write the concluding paragraph. With legs
tiring out, Bernadeschi summoned up one last ounce of pace and strength,
bursting past Correa. Goal-wards he advanced, streaming clear of the substitute
into the penalty area. Correa struggling to cope with the movement tripped the
Italian inside the area. It was a stonewall penalty. And only one man was ever
going to take it. A joyful hush descended over the Turin stadium. They knew
what was most likely to follow but in such nervy moments the pressure is always
fever pitch. On the touchline, Simeone must have prayed against the almost definite
outcome. Ronaldo stood in his superman posture, hands on hips, legs slightly spread
apart, ready to finish the comeback he had kick-started. The spot-kick was
clinically dispatched, cool and calm as you like, sending Oblak the wrong way.
Clincher: His penalty sealed a memorable comeback win for the Italians who progress to the last eight.
The superman-esque celebration soon followed as the home fans erupted with joy
The stadium went up in
decibels. Ronaldo went up in his customary “su” celebration. The cameras panned
to his fiancée –almost moved to tears, and son in the stands. Ecstatic and emotional
scenes rained the Turin atmosphere. Ronaldo had perfected the script in a way
only he can: a hat trick to send Juventus into the quarter finals of the
Champions League. The nigh impossible, stuff of dreams, had been made real
before our eyes. That is eight Champions league hat tricks. He is the man for
the big stage. Little wonder many see him as arguably the greatest of all time; the
GOAT. On this showing it is easy to see why.
Come the final whistle, the elation of the players clad in striped black and white knew no bounds as their progression was confirmed, while Atletico Madrid defender Jose Jimenez looks dejected on the turf
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