Video: Cristiano Ronaldo is spot on as Real Madrid knock out Juventus

Real Madrid 1 Juventus 3 (Real Madrid win 4-3 on aggregate)

It’s barely believable but the Bernabeu served up more drama last night than Roma managed on Tuesday when they came back from the dead to defeat Barcelona.

Twenty-four hours later Real Madrid were on the brink of joining Barca in a quarter-final exit from the Champions League, but in the most dramatic conclusion to a European cup tie imaginable Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty deep into injury time to take the reigning champions into the last four.

But if Real’s hero lived up to his reputation, for Juventus their living legend Gianluigi Buffon ended the night in shame, the veteran goalkeeper receiving a red card from referee Michael Oliver for abusive language after the English official had awarded the hosts their last-gasp spot-kick.

It was the right call, although when Medhi Benatia made contact with Lucas Vazquez on the edge of the six-yard area it was the sort of challenge that on another night with another ref might have gone unpunished.

As Buffon stormed off, incandescent with rage at having been sent off for the first time in 117 European ties, on came former Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny for surely the most surreal minute of his life. His chance to be a hero, or his chance to be another statistic in Ronaldo’s remarkable career.

The Pole guessed right, diving to his left, but Ronaldo - having shown astonishing composure during the five minutes of pandemonium following the penalty decision - struck it just beyond his despairing reach.

None of Ronaldo’s teammates would have been more relieved than Keylor Navas, whose shocking fumble on 62 minutes had spilled the ball right into the path of Blaise Matuidi. He poked the loose ball over the line for the third Juventus goal to bring the aggregate scores level.

It was nothing less than the Italians deserved. They dominated from the kick-off, and were allowed the freedom of the Bernabeu down the right flank from where all their goals came. Mario Mandzukic scored the first after just two minutes, heading home Sami Khedira’s deft lofted pass, and the Croatian doubled Juventus’s advantage on 38 minutes, this time powering home Stephan Lichtsteiner’s cross with his head.

Matuidi got the third but just as extra-time beckoned - a mouthwatering prospect for the neutral after 90 minutes of stupendous end-to-end football - down went Vazquez, off went Buffon and up stepped Ronaldo.

What they said after the match

Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus goalkeeper: “To award such a doubtful, or super doubtful penalty, just ahead of the final whistle and destroy the work of a team who gave absolutely everything, you have to have a trash bin instead of your heart. You need to be prepared for a game like this. You have to watch the first leg and see that a similar foul was not punished with a penalty for Juventus in Turin. And especially you need personality to referee a game like this. If you don’t have personality, you better watch the game from the stands with your wife and your kids while eating chips.”

Giorgio Chiellini, Juventus defender: “Bayern [Munich] suffered the same treatment last season [Madrid profiting from officials’ decisions]. We are not the first and will not be the last.”

Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid coach: “I don’t think he deserved a red but we can’t change it. What happened at the end won’t change Buffon’s image in football. He’s a great player.”

Massimiliano Allegri, Juventus boss: “The penalty, the referee saw that and gave the penalty. There’s nothing left to say… Gigi had that reaction but it’s understandable. That was a human reaction and I think he should have been understood. In that moment there was a lot of confusion and the referee took out the red card.” 

Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid goalscorer: “My pulse was racing but I stayed calm, I knew it was decisive. We suffered and this has to serve as a lesson for us that in football you can’t take anything for granted, you have to keep fighting until the end.”