Javier is the Real deal

Paris: Real Madrid and Juventus scraped into the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday, joining Bayern Munich and Barcelona.Defending champions Real edged city rivals Atletico 1-0 thanks to an 88th-minute winner from on-loan striker Javier Hernandez after a goalless first leg. Juventus also made it to the last-four after a 0-0 draw in Monaco allowed them to qualify courtesy of their 1-0 first leg win in Italy last week.

Bayern and Barcelona had made sure of their places on Tuesday leaving Friday’s semifinal draw to feature four teams with 21 European Cup triumphs between them.The tie in Madrid was a repeat of last season’s final, won by Real 4-1 after extra-time, but Atletico had gone unbeaten in seven previous meetings against their city rivals this season.

However, the visitors had to play the final 14 minutes with 10 men as Arda Turan was shown a second yellow card for a high challenge on Sergio Ramos.

Hernandez then finally got the all-important goal after brilliant work from James Rodriguez and Cristiano Ronaldo left the Mexican with the simplest of finishes from close range.

“Obviously it is my most important goal,” said Hernandez.“It is a derby which hasn’t brought good memories since winning the 10th European Cup. I was the one who scored, but it belongs to everyone. The people who believed in me, my teammates and my family,” he added.

Real boss Carlo Ancelotti praised Hernandez’s attitude having barely been involved this season until Karim Benzema suffered a knee injury in the first leg.“Hernandez played very well, he played with a lot of desire. He has suffered a lot this season, he has played very little but he never gave up,” Ancelotti said. “In the difficult moments he continued to train well and that has paid off for him in the end.”

Juventus made the last four for the first time since 2003 after a goalless draw in their quarterfinal second leg with Monaco saw them progress 1-0 on aggregate. A controversial Arturo Vidal penalty in the first leg in Turin last week ultimately proved enough for the Serie ‘A’ leaders, who relied on their defensive strength to see off opponents again let down by their lack of quality in the final third.

A Monaco side full of youthful enthusiasm pushed forward for long spells, but Juventus — who had let in just one goal in their previous nine matches — always looked in control and veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was never seriously threatened. The Italian giants came closest to scoring from a 90th-minute Andrea Pirlo free-kick that ended up clipping the bar.