It’s the morning after the night before and we still haven’t recovered from the latest hit of Gazprom goodness.
The Champions League knockout stages continued to enthral as Gianluigi Buffon was sent off at the Bernabeu.
Juventus’ legendary keeper completely lost his head after the referee Michael Oliver after the official awarded Real Madrid a last-gasp penalty to ensure their progression to the semi-finals.
Oliver ruled that Medhi Benatia fouled Lucas Vazquez in the box with just seconds of normal time remaining.
Goals from Mario Mandzukic (2) and Sami Khedira had levelled the tie at 3-3 but the controversial penalty halted Juventus’ comeback in its tracks as Cristiano Ronaldo confidently dispatched the spot-kick.
Buffon’s anger barely subsided after the final whistle.
“It was a tenth of a penalty,” he said.
“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.
“Clearly you cannot have a heart in your chest, but a bag of rubbish.
“On top of that, if you don’t have the character to walk on a pitch like this in a stadium like this, you can sit in the stands with your wife, your kids, having your drink and eating crisps.”
“If you have the cynicism to award a penalty like that, you are not a man, you are an animal.
“We had done something which seemed impossible. A pity it ended like this, unjustly.”
Ronaldo defended Oliver over the the penalty decision.
“I don’t understand why they protested the penalty,” he said.
“If he’s not fouled, Lucas scores. He is hit from behind.
“During the game Benatia and the rest constantly kicked us from behind. That is their game.”
READ MORE:
- The story of Kostas Manolas’ first professional goal is pure Greek mythology
- There’s no need to be scared of Millwall’s Premier League chances
- 15 reasons Cristiano Ronaldo is a massive fraud who will never be considered a legend