Spanish press critical of Real Madrid’s defeat to Juventus

Madrid, May 6: Spanish press outlets expressed a range of emotions on Wednesday, from optimism to criticism, regarding Real Madrid's 1-2 defeat by Italian champions Juventus in the first leg of the Champions League football semi-finals in Turin.

AS newspaper highlighted the "blow" sustained by Real Madrid in Turin on Tuesday, while the more positive Marca headline observed that the Spanish are just "one goal from Berlin", reports Efe.

Marca also highlighted that Real Madrid needs only one comeback goal at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the second leg to advance to the final, despite their bad performance in the second half against Juventus.

The newspaper highlighted the fabulous header by striker James Rodriguez that hit the crossbar in the first half, which could have changed the game.

Marca went on to underline the goal scored by striker Cristiano Ronaldo, describing it as "a goal that could be golden," while it also criticised Madrid's tactics and the modest performances by defender Sergio Ramos and winger Gareth Bale, as well as the poor defensive display by the team.

AS shed light on Rodriguez's header, and kept things light by listing the achievements of Ronaldo, who scored 54 goals during this season in addition to his overall 76 goals in the tournament.

The same newspaper quoted Ancelotti, who said that it wasn't just Ramos who made a mistake, but that there were more mistakes than normal, equally referencing Rodriguez's rallying cry for the second leg, that "the Bernabeu has to roar and we have to go for the kill."

Catalan press paid much attention to the Barcelona-Bayern tie in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday, while the Sport newspaper headlined "Real Madrid will be playing to suffer at the Bernabeu."