Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty has set Real Madrid on course for the final of the Champions League as they lead Juventus on away goals at the halfway stage of their semi-final second leg at the Bernabeu this evening.
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The home side made a bright start to the match as they set about trying to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit, with Gareth Bale sending a free header too high inside the very first minute.
Karim Benzema, making his first appearance since the first leg of the quarter-final, then crafted a fine chance of his own inside the area with a clever turn past Stephan Lichtsteiner, only to snatch at his effort and blaze it over the top.
The hosts continued to ask the majority of the questions in the opening exchanges and came close to a breakthrough when Ronaldo's dipping free kick rippled the top of the net via a touch from Arturo Vidal.
Juventus tested Iker Casillas for the first time 14 minutes in as Vidal picked up the ball before unleashing a 25-yard strike that brought a sprawling save from the under-fire Madrid skipper down low to his left.
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An end-to-end start to the match then swung back into the favour of Real, with Isco showing good footwork to beat his man before an inventive chip from the edge of the box floated comfortably off target.
Madrid stayed on the front foot and had another big chance to break the deadlock shortly after as Marcelo's ball over the top sent Benzema through, but his pull-back was behind Ronaldo when the Portuguese attacker would have had a simple tap-in.
The front three were beginning to cause the visitors problems and Bale was next to come close just minutes later, firing a dipping and swerving long-range effort towards goal that Gianluigi Buffon was at full stretch to save.
Real's pressure finally told in the 24th minute, however, when Giorgio Chiellini clumsily brought James Rodriguez down inside the box, prompting referee Jonas Eriksson to point to the spot. Ronaldo stepped up and went straight down the middle to give his side the lead on the night and on aggregate courtesy of their away goal in the first leg.
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The strike was a landmark one for a number of reasons as Ronaldo netted a record 10th Champions League semi-final goal, became the first player to score 10 or more goals in the competition in four separate seasons and drew level with Alfredo di Stefano in the club's all-time scoring charts on 307.
The Ballon d'Or holder also levelled with Lionel Messi as the competition's all-time leading scorer, and he could have moved clear of his perennial rival moments later. However, a quick break from the hosts ended in disappointment as an off-balance Ronaldo couldn't pick out a teammate at the back post.
Two corners in quick succession followed, one of which saw an acrobatic effort from Sergio Ramos blocked before Buffon made a smart save to deny Benzema's header.
Madrid continued to look dangerous and threatened twice in quick succession five minutes before half time as first Ronaldo lashed an effort into the side-netting before Buffon was down quickly to deny a low effort from Benzema at the near post.
Juventus held on until the break, but now need an away goal if they are to progress to a first final since 2003.
Barney Corkhill
