MADRID, (Reuters) - Alessandro Del Piero scored two
stunning goals to give Juventus a 2-0 victory at Real Madrid on
Wednesday to put the Italians through to the Champions League
knockout stage.
The World Cup-winning striker grabbed the opener in the 2-1 win
over Real in Turin two weeks ago and repeated the feat after 17
minutes at the Bernabeu, crashing a left-foot shot past keeper Iker
Casillas as the defence backed off.
Del Piero's second came from a direct free kick on 67 minutes
which he whipped past Real's badly-positioned wall into the
left-hand corner of the net with Casillas rooted to the
spot.
He almost had a third near the end when a close-range effort
slipped past the post and the crowd rose as one to applaud the
33-year-old when he was substituted in injury time.
"When you have a great player who is performing superbly and
giving his all for the team the colour of his shirt does not
matter," Juve coach Claudio Ranieri told a news
conference.
"They applaud because they are applauding football, they are
applauding a thing of beauty." With four matches played, Juve top
Group H on 10 points. Real are second on six, Zenit St Petersburg
have four and BATE Borisov of Belarus two.
Real coach Bernd Schuster included Arjen Robben in his team but
the Dutch winger was injured in the warmup and replaced by
compatriot Royston Drenthe.
The Primera Liga champions sorely missed Robben's pace and
penetration and found it hard to create chances, particularly in
the second half, despite dominating for long periods.
Sergio Ramos almost equalised on 24 minutes but his half-volley
flew over the bar. Fit-again striker Ruud van Nistelrooy blasted
narrowly over before halftime and substitute Gonzalo Higuain sliced
a Drenthe cross wide in the second half.
Schuster said Real deserved more from the match but paid tribute
to Juve's defensive performance. "I could not have asked more from
my team," he said. "It's true that luck wasn't really with us
tonight but you have to accept these things and we still have a
good chance to qualify for the next round."
