Massimiliano Allegri believes his heartbroken Juventus side deserved extra time against Real Madrid, but refused to comment on the huge penalty incident involving English referee Michael Oliver.
Juventus had pulled back a three-goal deficit on one of the biggest nights of Champions League action ever at the Bernabeu, only for Cristiano Ronaldo to score a 97th-minute penalty to knock the Italians out.
The away side were furious, with legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon sent off for dissent in the aftermath, but Allegri opted not to comment on Oliver’s decision.
Massimiliano Allegri watched his side crash out of the Champions League at the Bernabeu
Gianluigi Buffon was sent off in the dying moments after a huge call from the English referee
‘I don’t want to judge what the referee did,’ the Juventus boss told Mediaset Premium.
‘I feel bad for the lads, who did well in Turin for 60 minutes and didn’t score the goals they did tonight.
‘The penalty tonight was basically the reverse of what happened on Juan Cuadrado in the first leg… I said even at the time that incident would decide qualification.’
Allegri refers to the 92nd-minute incident in the first leg, in which Dani Carvajal’s challenge on Cuadrado was deemed to not be a penalty, leaving Juventus trailing 3-0.
‘We deserved at least to go to extra time, as we had two substitutes left and they could give an important push in that extra half-hour with Real Madrid tiring,’ Allegri continued.
‘Either I had to make changes on the hour mark and go hell for leather, or I wait until extra time and have enough time to get the situation sorted out. We weren’t even really at risk late on in the game.’
Allegri believes his side deserved extra time after Cristiano Ronaldo sent them crashing out
The Juventus boss says Buffon said ‘it’s not a penalty’ to referee Michael Oliver before his red
But despite Allegri’s perceived lack of ‘risk’, Ronaldo’s goal ensures that Real Madrid reach the last four yet again, with Juventus left to concentrate on domestic affairs.
‘Now we have to focus on the Scudetto and taking that home,’ Allegri added. ‘We have to be stronger than these things and let them fortify us.’
There was also a last word on Buffon, with the Juventus manager revealing what the goalkeeper supposedly said to Oliver to earn his sending off.
‘What did Buffon say to the referee? It’s not a penalty.’
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