MADRID, April 12, 2018 - Juventus were magnificent in Madrid, but their failure to complete the great escape should not be blamed on English referee Michael Oliver, who called the key decisions correctly – says Desmond Kane. Where do you start with this one? Right at the end of a bloody marvellous, astonishing, chaotic and utterly compulsive modern European Cup classic between two clubs who are defined by such heady nights. It will already feel like the end of days for Massimiliano Allegri's Juventus, who somehow scraped and harried their way back to 3-3 on aggregate in Madrid before enduring the agony of Cristiano Ronaldo winning it for the holders with the last kick of the tie. It must be said, the death throes of a tense and unbelievable Champions League quarter-final at the Bernabeu was settled in an animated final few minutes that had to be seen to believed. Real Madrid join Bayern Munich, AS Roma and Liverpool in the semi-final draw on Friday, but came so close to being recalled as the victim of football's most memorable mugging. Having clawed their way back to parity from a 3-0 loss in the first leg with the sort of miraculous recovery that left you wondering if Max Allegri's face was on the Shroud of Turin, an emboldened Juventus produced one fateful act of self-harming. Perhaps not even that. Perhaps it was just a basic error, but how costly positioning is in football. With two minutes of three added for stoppage time, Toni Kroos floated a ball towards Ronaldo deep in the visiting box. He jumped above Alex Sandro to head towards Lucas V?zquez, who was obviously bumped from behind by Medhi Benatia as he prepared to uncork a finish from close range with just Gianlugi Buffon to beat. English referee Michael Oliver did not shirk his responsibility by immediately pointing to the penalty spot. The gut reaction tends to be the correct one. Oliver was correct. Oliver saw the push on Vazquez, and blew his whistle. Cue several minutes of pandemonium which saw Oliver disgracefully bumped and jostled by several Juventus players. Buffon was first to confront Oliver, and the intimidatory manner of his approach saw him rightly red carded by Oliver, who was left with little option. It was a sad way for the iconic Buffon to depart on his 650th appearance for Juventus, and what could be his last Champions League match if he makes good on his promise to retire at the end of the season. The World Cup winner lamented the decision. "The team gave its all, but a human being cannot destroy dreams like that at the end of an extraordinary comeback on a dubious situation," he said as a sense of injustice raged within the Italian camp. But Oliver should not be made a scapegoat for the magnificent Italian champions conking out when extra-time seemed a certainty. They were more upset with themselves than Oliver, but the referee is an easy target. Would Buffon have been unhappy if the same decision had been awarded at the opposite end? After what felt like an eternity, Ronaldo scored in the seventh minute of added time. Poor Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szcz?sny was forced to trudge off the visiting bench to face the penalty. But even if he had been joined in the goal by Buffon, it is unlikely they would have stopped the Ronaldo finish such was the velocity of the shot as he arrowed the ball high into the net, a picture of calm amid a posse of bedlam. It is 17 goals in 11 games for CR7. He was not at his best, but he genuinely touched this match when it was desperately needed. "My heart rate went up but I calmed myself because I knew it would be decisive," said Ronaldo. As Ronaldo became the ninth man to be booked on the night for losing his shirt after scoring, Juventus had lost the plot. Little wonder having come so close to producing the greatest comeback special since Elvis sang If I Can Dream 50 years ago. Juventus were dreaming as early as the second minute. This truly was old school entertainment from the Old Lady. Without the suspended Sergio Ramos, 21-year-old central defender Jesus Vallejo was given a schooling as Juve showed little fear of their task. Juventus president Andrea Agnelli called for the video assistant referee (VAR) to be used in the Champions League after his side were knocked out by Real Madrid in a thrilling quarterfinal second leg which was decided by a debatable injury-time penalty. "A goal-line official behind the line isn't the same thing as an official in front of a video replay," Agnelli told reporters. "If Uefa are not ready, then they need to train people quickly, just as Serie A did, plus in Germany, Portugal and elsewhere. "This isn't about one or two incidents, but about going forward in a massive tournament that brings so much money and prestige. We can't allow these incidents to occur." Bayern stay alive Jupp Heynckes expressed his delight at Bayern Munich's ability to keep their composure despite a frustrating 0-0 draw against Sevilla as they qualified for the Champions League semifinals. Bayern progressed to the last four on Wednesday for the seventh time in nine seasons, prevailing 2-1 on aggregate following their first-leg victory in Spain last week. Franck Ribery had Bayern's best chance in the Munich home leg, but he fired at Sevilla goalkeeper David Soria in the first half at the Allianz Arena. Sevilla's Joaquin Correa hit the Bayern crossbar with a header on the hour mark before being sent off just before the final whistle for a foul on Javi Martinez. Spain international Martinez finished with a bruised knee, while James Rodriguez picked up a thigh injury in a bruising encounter. Heynckes was pleased his side ground out the result despite their inability to breach a determined Sevilla defence. "You can't always play brilliantly and put the opponent to the wall, sometimes you have to just keep them scoreless," Heynckes said. "They hit the bar, which didn't let us rest, but we didn't get nervous." Heynckes praised the discipline exhibited by his players. Top scorer Robert Lewandowski, in addition to Ribery, Jerome Boateng and Joshua Kimmich, had been a yellow card away from suspension but the quartet emerged unscathed. "We kept our discipline and we didn't pick up any yellow cards, even though four players were in danger of being suspended, which was important," he said. Thomas Mueller admitted it was a frustrating night for Bayern and their fans as they struggled to cope with Sevilla playmaker Ever Banega. "In the first 20, 25 minutes, we managed to constrict Sevilla, but too often we didn't get pressure on Banega," Mueller said. "Annoyingly, we did not score, although we had chances. "We played well, even if it wasn't a good game for the general public."
