Uefa Champions League quarter-final, first leg: Juventus 0 Real Madrid 3
JUVENTUS coach Massimiliano Allegri accepted there was little else to do but admire Cristiano Ronaldo's "extraordinary goal" after holders Real Madrid moved a step closer to the semi-finals of the Champions League with a 3-0 win in Turin.
The Portuguese forward fired the LaLiga side ahead just three minutes into the quarter-final first-leg tie – before producing a moment of pure brilliance to double the lead just after the hour with an overhead kick which even had the home fans applauding.
Juve saw forward Paulo Dybala sent off for a second yellow card before Marcelo added Real's third away goal in the 72nd minute to all but end the contest ahead of the second leg back in Madrid.
Such was the calibre of finish for Ronaldo's second goal, Los Blancos coach Zinedine Zidane was left shaking his head in disbelief, while the home fans clapped in stunned admiration.
"I don't know if Cristiano's goal is the best in the history of football, but it's certainly an extraordinary goal. You can only congratulate him for what he's doing at present," Allegri said at a press conference.
"However, I am disappointed about the third goal, because at that point we still could have turned the tie in the second leg. Now it will be impossible."
Allegri added, quoted on www.uefa.com: "Real Madrid were devastating with their final ball. You don't win three Champions League titles in four years by accident.
"We have to think about the league (Serie A) and then go to Madrid to play our game."
Ronaldo had became the first player to score in 10 consecutive Champions League matches when Real swept into an early lead.
Veteran Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was not surprised to see Ronaldo produce such a sublime finish.
"At his best? No I think he was the usual Ronaldo. Messi and him can be compared to Maradona and Pele for what they have been doing season after season," he said.
"We made a few mistakes, but it can happen when you face the best.
"We feel a real sense of disappointment because we probably won't qualify. That's a real shame, but against some teams you have to be calm and congratulate them, because objectively they're a stronger side."
Real Madrid head coach Zidane, meanwhile, must do without captain Sergio Ramos for the second leg after the defender's yellow card.
"It was a great game – it's not easy to win 3-0 here. We suffered a bit at times, but that's because you have to suffer here. Going forward, though, we always know how to cause teams problems," the Frenchman said after his return to Turin.
"Cristiano is in good form at the moment. His team-mates are very happy with him. We need to enjoy tonight, but then think about the hard work ahead of next week because Juve won't give up."
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, first leg: Sevilla 1 Bayern Munich 2
MATS Hummels admits Bayern Munich have plenty of room for improvement in their quest for Champions League glory after the German giants rode their luck to claim a narrow victory over Sevilla.
Bayern emerged from the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan with a 2-1 win from their quarter-final first leg, but it could have been a very different story.
Both of Bayern's goals came via heavy deflections, while a combination of poor finishing, great defending and fine goalkeeping prevented Sevilla from building on Pablo Sarabia's first-half strike.
Bayern are now favourites to finish things off during next week's second leg at the Allianz Arena, where they have won 21 of their last 22 European matches, but Hummels concedes the Bundesliga powerhouses need to do better.
He told BT Sport: "I think the result would have gotten our signature if you gave it to us before the game, so we're very happy about the result and about most parts of the game as well, but it wasn't 90 minutes of good from us.
"(There was) at least half-an-hour in the first half when Sevilla were clearly the better team and had good chances to score maybe a second goal, so we know there's a lot we have to improve in the next game next week, and hopefully in the games coming after that."
Sarabia wasted a gilt-edged chance to put Sevilla ahead before he made amends by firing the Spanish side in front after 32 minutes.
Bayern were level inside six minutes though, with Franck Ribery's cross going in off Jesus Navas and then another deflected goal, this time Thiago's 68th-minute header diverting in off Sergio Escudero, gained them a fortuitous win.
Hummels insisted Sevilla's performance did not catch them unawares, saying: "We always told everyone how good they are because we knew.
"So it didn't come as a surprise for us, but of course we didn't want them to be that dominant for the biggest part of the first half.
"That's something we will analyse and talk about and we will try not to let it happen again in next week's game in Munich."
Sevilla coach Vincenzo Montella, whose side dumped Manchester United out in the previous round following a 2-1 win at Old Trafford, admits the Andalusian outfit have a mountain to climb but is not throwing in the towel yet.
Asked what chance they have in the return leg, Montella said: "Few, but we're going to play with the same amount of pride, or more.
"Things are made possible if you believe and I continue believing.
"Our percentage (of going through) is low, but we have to play them."
He added in his post-match press conference in quotes reported by AS: "We haven't had luck. I'm grateful for the excellent game that my players had against a very high-level opponent.
"The team deserved more. The first goal we conceded was a shame, it didn't demoralise us, but we lost momentum.
"The second half was more even, but we didn't have the energy to go on the counter-attack.
"We went for it in the final minutes and I like that a lot, but the two goals (Sevilla conceded) were a shame."
