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The best game plan for Juventus against Real Madrid in second leg

The best game plan for Juventus against Real Madrid in second leg

There exists something of an assumption about Italian teams. It posits that, if given the choice, they'll avoid playing soccer. That is to say, that they'd sooner defend than attack. It's what they're good at. It's what Italian clubs have traded on in European competition for decades.

[Slideshow: Juventus vs. Real Madrid in pictures]

That's what made it all the more surprising to see Juventus stump Real Madrid with a relatively bold game plan on Tuesday in their 2-1 home win in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal. Rather than just sit back – as it had in the quarterfinals against Monaco, eking out an aggregate 1-0 win, even though it had stomped Borussia Dortmund 5-1 in the round of 16 – Juve pressed high and countered aggressively.

[FC Yahoo: Champions League Live – Juventus vs. Real Madrid as it happened]

Real had no answer and was overrun on the breaks. And so Juventus will travel to Madrid with a lead on Wednesday.

[FC Yahoo: Four things to know about the Champions League semifinalists]

But it would be a mistake for Juve to try to sit in and absorb pressure in the second leg. A 1-0 loss would eliminate them after all with Real advancing on its away goal. Instead, the Serie A champions should keep doing what they did so well in Turin, stopping Real from settling into its usual, lethal rhythm.

Namely, they should:

1. Frustrate Cristiano Ronaldo.

Yes, Ronaldo scored in the 27th minute when he was left wide open to nod in James Rodriguez's cross. (It was his record re-taking 76th goal in this competition.) But other than that, he wasn't much of a factor in the game. Juve's tight organization and high pressure forced him down the field to see more of the ball. As a consequence, he had zero touches in Juve's box in the second half, according to Opta. Zero. You're not going to shut down the player who was voted the world's best the past two seasons any better than that.

2. Isolate Gareth Bale.

The Welshman has had a difficult second season in Spain, but he looked particularly ineffectual against Juve's defense. He touched the ball just 14 times in the first half before being subbed off in the second. Remember when Real bought him from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee that matched Ronaldo's world record? Yeah, we barely can either.

3. Occupy the backs.

Real is at its most dangerous when its attackers keep the opposing team so busy that the midfielders can push forward and the backs can slide up the flanks to create overload situations out wide. But on Tuesday, Juve was so quick and scary on the counter that Marcelo and Daniel Carvajal – both of whom were badly exposed on Juve's goals – had to stay home.

4. Disrupt the possession.

Juve's midfield worked ever so hard, clogging up Real's passing channels. That's why the defending champions never really got into their groove. They just didn't have the time on the ball, or the passing options, to find the seams in Juve's lines.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.