That dream El Clasico Champions League final is not to be, as Juventus, courtesy a player who was plying his trade at the Bernabeu just last season, toppled the defending champions Real Madrid in the semifinals.
Leading 2-1 going into the second leg, Juventus were jolted by a first half penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo, only for Alvaro Morata, the man who was a Real Madrid player last season, to ensure the no-team-has-ever-defended-their-title-in-the-Champions-League-era curse would stay intact.
Real Madrid came into the tie know if they kept a clean sheet and if Ronaldo got his customary goal they would go through to the final against Barcelona in Berlin, and it all looked like going according to plan when their talisman did just that, stepping up to bank a penalty straight down the middle after Isco had been clumsily brought down by Giorgio Chiellini.
The home team should have really gone into halftime a couple of goals ahead at least, with the likes of Karim Benzema, outstanding in the first half, Gareth Bale and Ronaldo all coming close.
Without the second goal, the vulnerability factor was always there for Real Madrid, and Juventus took full advantage, with Morata rippling the net with aplomb off Paul Pogba's headed pass on 57 minutes.
"I think Alvaro Morata is becoming a major player," Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri said. "He has grown both physically and tactically. He is still a young kid and I don't think he has fulfilled his potential yet -- he has a lot of room to develop.
"At halftime [trailing 1-0] I said we should stay calm and our chances would come. Our play was good in the middle of the pitch, even if we could have done better with our passing, but we managed to reach the final and it is an extraordinary result."
Real Madrid huffed and puffed in the final half hour, while Juventus could have easily scored more on the counter-attack as well, but it stayed 1-1 on the night to give the Italian champions a 3-2 aggregate victory and a 6 June date with Barcelona in Berlin.
"The boys defended well, we grew through the game, we had a number of chances but we missed the final pass," an overjoyed Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri said. "We deserve to be in the final because we believed until the last minute.
"It will be a unique match against Barcelona. It is a one-off game, two matches is more complex. I am used to playing against Barcelona, having faced them about eight times in four years [as manager of AC Milan]. Beating Barca is always difficult, but the final is a one-off match."
