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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

MADRID

Tevez strike gives Juve win over Real Madrid

Alvaro Morata and Carlos Tevez struck a goal apiece as Juventus boosted their Champions League final chances with a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in their first leg semi-final on Tuesday.

Tevez strike gives Juve win over Real Madrid
Juventus' forward Carlos Tevez celebrates after scoring a penalty during the Champions League semi-final first leg match against Real Madrid. Photo: Olivier Morin/AFP

Morata, who moved from Real to Juventus last summer, tapped home the rebound from a Tevez strike on eight minutes to send Juventus Stadium into raptures.

The hosts were pegged back just before the half-hour thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's 76th goal in the competition, a simple header that beat Gianluigi Buffon from close range.

But the Turin giants were back in front when Tevez beat Iker Casillas from the penalty spot on 57 minutes after he was felled in the area.

Real host Juventus on May 13th when they will look to make their precious away goal count as they bid to secure a second consecutive final.

However Juve, who last appeared in the last four in 2003 when they were beaten by AC Milan in the final, will feel confident of causing an upset against the record 10-time and defending champions.

"I would have signed for that result at the start of the match," said Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri.

"But we will have to play a lot better in the second leg if we are to go through."

Morata told Sky Sport: "We will have to play the perfect game at the Bernabeu. Above all, we have to believe we've done nothing yet."

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti, who was without injured French striker Karim Benzema, admitted Juve were having a "great" season and conceded: "We made a few more mistakes than we usually do and didn't have much control in the opening half.

"But I'm confident our fans will push us through in the second leg."
  

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OFFBEAT

Madrid police end escaped camels’ night on the town

Eight camels and a llama took to the streets of Madrid overnight after escaping from a nearby circus, Spanish police said on Friday.

A camel in a zoo
A file photo of a camel in a zoo. Photo: ATTILA KISBENEDEK / AFP

It was not immediately clear how the long-legged runaways managed to get out but Quiros Circus, which owns them, blamed sabotage by animal rights activists.

They were spotted at around 5:00 am wandering around the southern district of Carabranchel close to where the circus is currently based.

“Various camels and a llama escaped from a circus in Madrid overnight,” Spain’s national police wrote on Twitter, sharing images of eight two-humped camels and a llama hanging around a street corner.

“Police found them and took care of them so they could be taken back safe and sound,” they tweeted.

There was no word on whether the rogue revellers, who are known for spitting, put up any resistance when the police moved in to detain them.

Mati Munoz, one of the circus’ managers, expressed relief the furry fugitives — Bactrian camels who have two humps and thick shaggy coats – had been safely caught.

“Nothing happened, thank God,” he told AFP, saying the circus had filed a complaint after discovering the electric fence around the animals’ enclosure had been cut.

“We think (their escape) was due to an act of sabotage by animal rights groups who protest every year.”

Bactrian camels (camelus bactrianus) come from the rocky deserts of central and eastern Asia and have an extraordinary ability to survive in extreme conditions.

These days, the vast majority of them are domesticated.

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