Juventus 0-3 Real Madrid: 5 Talking Points

From the third minute until the 63rd - for an hour, there was status quo. On either side of it, there was Cristiano Ronaldo.

For a match that had to live up to its billing of being a cracker, there was plenty of action and plenty of scintillating football but Real Madrid came out on top.

There is a frightening sense of familiarity about how they dispatched one of the best teams in Europe, on their home turf, to put this tie to bed even before the second leg has started.

It was Ronaldo who opened the scoring with a delightful finish after Isco teed him up inside the area.

The second was an absolute stunner of a bicycle kick that sent the whole world into a state of shock. The entire stadium stood up and applauded the genius of the Portuguese sorcerer.

Ronaldo then played creator as he released Marcelo into a one-on-one with Buffon with the Brazilian keeping his head and dinking the ball over the veteran to put the finishing touches to the scoreline that underlines the dominance that Zidane's men enjoyed on the night.

Let's dive right into the main talking points from the game:

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#5 Juventus invite Real Madrid to attack and pay for it immediately

Juventus showed Madrid too much respect

Allegri got his men to sit back in the first two minutes and it looked like Juve were hoping to hit this Madrid team on the counter.

Sure, they have the firepower to execute the plan to perfection but simply affording too much space to the kind of quality that rests in the Madrid ranks can be detrimental to your plans and Ronaldo read Juventus their rights as early as the third minute.

Isco was released into space on the left flank by Marcelo and the Spaniard went past Di Sciglio to cut one back for Ronaldo who coolly slotted it past Buffon with the outside of his foot. It looked all to easy for the reigning champions of Europe.

Juventus were much more positive after the goal went in and even dominated possession for short stints in the first half but they couldn't make anything of note as their final ball was consistently lacking in quality.

Allegri's men looked even better in the second half and an equaliser seemed to be on the horizon but then Ronaldo decided it was not to be and well, let's just say that he has his own ways of enforcing his ideas, eh?

#4 Dybala's red card suggests this tie is done and dusted

A frustrating night for the Argentinian

Paulo Dybala is a star. There is no debating that. But these are the nights where he should be dragging his team past the finishing line; not sauntering off after the hour mark to trip 'em from behind when they're already in a pit.

It wasn't for lack of trying though. Dybala did combine well with Sami Khedira and Gonzalo Higuain and made Juventus look menacing on the break.

But he couldn't deliver the quality in the final third as several Juventus attacks were quelled inside the final third by Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal.

With Jorge Sampaoli keeping an eye on him, this was definitely not how Dybala would have wanted his night to turn out.

Booked for simulation in the first half and then sent off in the second for a crashing into Carvajal with his studs up.

In the absence of Dybala, Juventus may find it really hard to pay Real Madrid back in kind and their European dream is more or less over.

#3 Isco over Bale, disco over pace

Indispensable again?

Ah, this boy. After tearing Argentina a new one with his elegance, Zidane had to deploy Isco to break down a Juve defence that has quite a reputation in Europe.

Zidane had the option to go with a 4-3-3 and deploy Bale on the right flank but he instead chose to go with the 4-4-2 diamond with Isco operating at his tip.

Ably supported by Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, Isco made a difference three minutes into the game as he drifted wide and had the beating of Di Sciglio before teeing up Ronaldo for the opener.

His lateral movement and understanding of how things work in the attacking third help carve open the most assured defences in the world.

Treat that as a fact now. Isco also brings out the best out of Ronaldo and Benzema.

This is about the time last year where Isco made the world stand up and take notice. He looks all set to do that once again.

This is bad news for Gareth Bale who's time at the Madrid capital may end unceremoniously owing to the brilliance of the Andalusian who could prove to be one of the most vital cogs of this Madrid juggernaut as they try to make it three Champions League titles in a row.

And let's not forget Keylor Navas for two absolutely brilliant stops, both from Higuain's efforts. Occasions like these when you aren't tested much are the ones where goalkeepers are susceptible to a lack of concentration.

But Navas, like all world-class goalkeepers worth their salt, was up to the task on the very few occasions he was called upon and made sure the netting remained undisturbed for the length of the game.

#2 Aging Juventus exposed as their defence gives in

European dream over?

Allegri has no doubt improved this Juve side. He has taken them to two Champions League finals in the span of four years.

If they can keep their head, they will, in all probability, beat Napoli to the Scudetto. But is the simply enough?

Make no mistakes, Juventus will need to go through a rebuilding phase sooner rather than later.

For all of Ronaldo's brilliance that helped Real Madrid extend their lead shortly after the hour mark, it was enabled by a moment of madness facilitated by Chiellini and Buffon as they let the ball slide through the two of them to the edge of the area.

Barzagli and Chiellini were easily unsettled inside the box as Ronaldo slotted home the opener in the third minute, thanks to some deceptive movement from Karim Benzema.

In the centre, for all of Khedira's efforts, there was a sense of lethargy and lack of creativity that more often than not sapped Juventus off the spark they so desperately needed against this Real Madrid side.

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo... it's a privilege

Yeah, he's started flying too

You wanna go to Turin? You wanna wage a war against Juventus? Would be quite a silly thing to envision but not for Zidane.

He'd be like, sure, why the heck not if you got this guy on your side?

To put things into perspective, Ronaldo was booed for almost 60 minutes after he scored the opener from an Isco cut back.

The Juve faithful have their reasons for it. He has been the villain for them a few too many times by now.

But when in the 63rd minute he lay in thin air and leathered the ball past a flat-footed Buffon into the corner of the net, everyone in the stadium stood up and applauded. A beautiful moment of sporting genius.

It was as beautiful as football gets. The kind of goal that makes you look up and thank the stars for affording you the privilege of watching Ronaldo do business in Italy.

He has now scored more UEFA Champions League quarter-final goals than Juventus have. Let that sink in. You can never write this man off. You can never write Real Madrid off.

He should have buried an easy tap-in in the dying embers of the game and secured his hat-trick but his miss from seven yards out showed his fallibility, which only poetically elevates that absolute wonder goal he scored to give Real Madrid some breathing space.

Ronaldo didn't stop there and kicked on and got himself an assist for playing Marcelo in for Real Madrid's third goal of the night.

Big occasion. But ain't no occasion as big as Ronaldo.

Though captain Sergio Ramos will miss the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu after picking up a yellow card, he will not be worried for they've laboured and got the perfect result tonight.

I mean, just look at this filth.

🖼 Perfección. ¡El segundo gol de @Cristiano fue una obra de arte! #APorLa13 pic.twitter.com/ZWijvBtkn6

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) April 3, 2018