Real Madrid Coach Carlo Ancelotti Full of Praise for his Team

Former Real player Alvaro Morata opened the scoring for Juve, before Christiano Ronaldo drew the visitor’s level with his ninth goal of this season's competition.

But a Carlos Tevez penalty just before the hour mark was enough to hand the Serie A champions an advantage heading into next week's return leg in Madrid.

Ancelloti also played down the substitution of Gareth Bale, who received criticism for his performance, insisting the Welshman was withdrawn as a precaution.

"I think we played well in some parts of the game, we were patient and moved the ball. We had good chances and we should be able to repeat our performance, except the first 15 minutes, in the next game.

"It was not only Sergio [Ramos]. We made more mistakes than usual. We struggled a bit in defence because the pressure from Juventus was higher in the second half. Sergio performed well as he had in the previous games.

"I think it is going to be the same as in the quarter-final and semi-final of the last season. We are full of confidence because we will play at home and our fans will help us.

By Musalia Wycliffe

Source: Reuters