Real Madrid vs Juventus match report: Alvaro Morata pounces to deny Clasico finale for Real

Real Madrid 1 Juventus 1 (Juventus win 3-2 on aggregate)

Juventus players celebrate after Alvaro Morata's goal (GETTY IMAGES)

When the Champions League semi-final draw was made, the narrative about an old favourite dumping his former club out of the tournament to reach the Berlin final was dominated by Pep Guardiola. We had the wrong guy.

One-time Real Madrid youth team striker Alvaro Morata scored his second goal of the tie at the Santiago Bernabeu last night to secure a draw in the second leg and end Real Madrid’s dream of becoming the first team to retain the Champions League. Instead it will be Juve who face Barcelona on 6 June.

It was special night for Morata, who was sold to Juventus for £16million at the end of last season by Carlo Ancelotti, unconvinced he had a place at the club.

It was also a special night for Paul Pogba, permitted to leave Manchester United in 2012 by Sir Alex Ferguson and now a European Cup finalist. But not for Gareth Bale, whose second-half miss from Marcelo’s cross meant Real Madrid failed to force the game into extra time.

It was Bale who had the first chance on 40 seconds, heading Marcelo’s cross just over Gianluigi Buffon’s bar. Dani Carvajal then crossed from the right and when the ball went over Cristiano Ronaldo’s head, it dropped at Karim Benzema’s feet. He did well to create the space to shoot but blazed over.

In stifling evening heat, players were taking on water after just 10 minutes. Buffon tipped over a Ronaldo free-kick and then, on 13 minutes, Iker Casillas was called to make his first save when Arturo Vidal tested him from the edge of the area.

Cristiano Ronaldo scores from the penalty spot (GETTY IMAGES)

Casillas, so criticised in recent weeks, had his name sung before kick-off, with supporters responding to calls to show the goalkeeper – making his 150th appearance in Europe for Real Madrid – some respect.

Isco worked space for himself and shot just over, while Benzema had started with real purpose. How Madrid missed his ability to join the dots between midfield and attack in the first leg. Bale was the next to go close, cutting in from the right and letting fly from all of 30 yards, stretching Buffon and winning a corner.

The next shot was Ronaldo’s – from the penalty spot and into the back of Buffon’s net.

Rodriguez had won the spot-kick, going down under a challenge from Giorgio Chiellini after he had been played in by Ronaldo. The Portuguese had kept Real Madrid in the tie in the first leg and now he had put them in control of it – 1-0 on the night was all it would take and they had their goal.

Real almost doubled their lead when Benzema raced away and played in Ronaldo, who could not finish. Juventus were carrying far less threat, with Pogba losing his duel with Carvajal and Morata frustrated by the pace and efficiency of Raphaël Varane.

Former Real star Morata (right) does not celebrate his goal (GETTY IMAGES)

Juventus were in desperate need of some Carlos Tevez energy and when he burst through on the half-hour, Isco dragged him down and was booked.

Andrea Pirlo pondered and probed without real incision and Juventus looked one-paced, with neither Pogba nor Claudio Marchisio able to offer any pace in wide areas. It was a problem for a team also short of a full-back really capable of bombing forward. Stephan Lichtsteiner did his best, but had the threat of Ronaldo to worry about.

Real were showing far more menace. Bale found Ronaldo with a long, early cross-field ball but he smashed his shot into the side netting, while Benzema then tried to creep a low drive inside Buffon’s near post.

Rodriguez was booked for diving in the area just before the break. For a long time it looked as if he would have the better of things against Pogba, another player who has had come back from a two-month injury lay-off this season.

Pogba didn’t always have the legs for such a big game but he didn’t need them on 57 minutes, he just needed his head and when he flicked on for Morata, the former Real Madrid forward controlled the ball on his chest and sent it left-footed past Casillas, who got a hand to the effort but could not stop it going past him.

Real were almost back in front on the night immediately when Marcelo crossed from the left. Bale connected but his shot went wide of Buffon’s right-hand upright – cue the first anti-Bale groan of the night. It was his team’s best chance of the second half and he had put it wide.

There was worse to follow when he tried to go beyond Patrice Evra and his heavy touch put the ball straight out of play. Ancelotti immediately replaced Benzema with Javier Hernandez and there was a sense inside the ground that supporters had wanted it to be the Welshman taken off instead.

The former Tottenham man’s next involvement was a clever flick back into the area but Juventus cleared – and with 20 minutes left Berlin was just beginning to appear on the horizon for the Italians.

It was almost reached conclusively when Marchisio went through on Casillas, only for the keeper to pull off the save of the night.

There was still time for a far-post Bale header from a Ronaldo cross to go agonisingly over, although this time he was applauded. It was much like the goal he scored in Lisbon last May to put Real ahead in the Champions League final. They will not be in Berlin to repeat the feat.