12 April 2018
- RECORD BREAKING AT THE BERNABEU
Last night, Juventus so nearly achieved the unthinkable, for no team in history had beaten Real Madrid in UEFA competition by a three-goal margin at the Bernabéu or indeed overturned a three-goal deficit against Los Blancos in a Champions League away leg.
Nevertheless, this was a night in which the Bianconeri rewrote the record books, becoming the first team to triumph on the road three times against Real in UEFA competition and also the first team to have two players score braces at the Bernabéu in the Champions League (Alessandro Del Piero in 2008 and Mario Mandzukic, 2018).
Furthermore, Real Madrid had not trailed by two goals at home in a Champions League fixture since February 2000 (against Bayern Munich).
- SUPER MARIO
Mario Mandzukic had not scored since 3rd January, but roared back to his best form at the Bernabéu with two breath-taking strikes. His first, after just 76 seconds, is the fastest to be conceded by Real Madrid at home in the Champions League.
The Croatian has now scored three times in three games for Juventus against Los Blancos. Of his 20 goals in the Champions League, 10 have been headers.
- CLASSY KHEDIRA
Solid and dependable as ever in the Bianconeri midfield, Sami Khedira not only helped his team tick like clockwork in Madrid, he also popped up with an outstanding assist for Mandzukic to head home the opener.
His chipped through ball for Mario made it three assists in Sami’s last three Champions League matches, thus setting his personal record of decisive passes in the same Champions league campaign (three).
- MATUIDI’S BIG MOMENT
On the hour mark, the unthinkable became reality, when Blaise Matuidi bundled home Juve’s third on the night to level the scores on aggregate.
This was the Frenchman’s seventh goal in the Champions League (over 54 games) and his first since November 2016 (against Basel for PSG).
- DOUGLAS THE DANGER MAN
Once again, Douglas Costa was a lethal outlet for the Bianconeri. The Brazilian made it a rare difficult evening for compatriot Marcelo, who was cautioned in a failed attempt to stop the lightning quick winger.
It was Costa who started many of Juve’s most dangerous moves, such as Mandzukic's opening goal. His stats for the night read 3 crosses, 6 possessions regained, 18 total duels... and many, many kilometers travelled!
