There were still more than two hours of football left to be played in Juventus’ Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid when Cristiano Ronaldo delivered the final word. A brilliant bicycle kick stunned the Allianz Stadium to silence for a moment, before 40,000 fans rose to applaud.

What else can you do in the face of such outrageous talent? Madrid’s supporters had done the same for Juve’s own Alessandro Del Piero a decade earlier after his brace sank their team at the Bernabeu. It is no small feat to make such an impression in the home stadiums of teams as well-acquainted with success as these two.

Massimiliano Allegri is fond of reminding us that players, not managers, win football games. The Juventus manager had things so right in the previous round of this competition, his second-half substitutions helping to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win away to Tottenham at Wembley. And yet, rather than accept any praise, he deflected.

“I just do a bit of damage,” he quipped. “And then every now and then I try to fix it.”

No amount of repair work could extend his team’s run in Europe this season. Ronaldo had already opened the scoring in Turin before he extended Madrid’s advantage with the outrageous overhead strike. Eight minutes later, Marcelo made it 3-0 to the visitors. Paulo Dybala was sent off for Juventus in between.

The easy conclusion to draw would be that the Italian champions remain the same team that lost to Madrid by the same three-goal margin (albeit 4-1, instead of 3-0) at last year’s final in Cardiff. Easy, but perhaps not very just.

Juventus wasn’t presumptuous here as it had been 10 months earlier, believing they had nothing to envy of these opponents. “We felt like we were on a par with them,” Gianluigi Buffon said earlier this week. “That was the first and biggest mistake that we made.”

There was a greater urgency to Juventus’ play this time around, pressing higher and longer, seeking direct paths to goal when possession was won. Juventus took only one fewer shot in the first 45 minutes of this game than it had in the entire 90 the last time around.

More tangibly, Allegri corrected a mistake he had made in the final when he trusted in the experience of Andrea Barzagli on the right of his defence. The 36-year-old had been run ragged by Marcelo. This time, Juventus lined up with Mattia De Sciglio at full-back, and Douglas Costa ahead of him. For a time, their greater pace and willingness to get forward restricted Marcelo’s attack.

And yet, none of it mattered as Juventus still had no answers for the one player it most needed to subdue. Ronaldo’s opening strike arrived in just the third minute, finding space on the edge of the six-yard box to convert Isco’s cross.

Should the marking have been tighter on a player of such obvious talent? How badly did Juventus miss Mehdi Benatia on an occasion such as this? The Moroccan has been their most consistent defender this season, yet was absent through suspension.

In the end, though, it feels futile to even consider the question. Ronaldo scored because Ronaldo scores. This is the 10th consecutive Champions League game in which he has found the net – yet another personal record to add to the collection. His 14 goals in this season’s tournament are six more than the next-most prolific player.

Almost single-handedly, he has ensured that Buffon will retire without a Champions League winner’s medal. The goalkeeper has kept his cards close to his chest in recent weeks, but previously said he would quit at the end of this season unless Juventus won the big-eared trophy and gave him a chance to compete in the European Super Cup and Club World Cup for the first time.

No other person has done more to deny him that opportunity. Eight of Ronaldo’s last nine shots on target against the Juventus ‘keeper have ended up in the back of the net. And when the finishes are as good as the ones we saw in Turin on Tuesday, you can hardly hold Buffon at fault.

Great players win football matches, just as Allegri says. And one, in particular, does it more often in the Champions League than anyone else.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

Mike Maccagnan is a cool customer. For a guy who drinks 10 cups of coffee a day (no exaggeration), he never seems jittery or rattled. It takes a lot to get a rise out of him, which is why it’s noteworthy he displayed a hint of defiance last week when questioned about his sketchy history of drafting quarterbacks — a hot-button issue in the current landscape.

The New York Jets general manager defended himself by reminding reporters that Bryce Petty was a fourth-round pick (2015) and Christian Hackenberg was a “late” second-rounder (2016). It was his way of saying, “Hey, guys, gimme a break, it’s not like I blew a first-round pick.” No, he didn’t, but Hackenberg was such a colossal miss — he still hasn’t played in a game — that some folks are wondering if Maccagnan will get it right on April 26.

“It doesn’t faze me,” Maccagnan said of the criticism. “It’s the college draft. [There are] guys you’ll hit on and guys who don’t pan out. That’s part of the process. We feel pretty confident with this year’s group and where we’re situated.”

The Jets are picking third and, barring the draft upset of the decade, they will select a quarterback from the group of Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield and Josh Rosen. It’ll be a franchise-altering decision for the Jets and a legacy-defining choice for Maccagnan, a college economics major-turned-scout who found the big chair in 2015. He will attempt to solve The Quarterback Riddle, which has flummoxed this star-crossed franchise for decades.

When: April 26-28
Where: Arlington, Texas
NFL draft coverage » | Full order: 1-256 »

All eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo when Real Madrid visits Juventus in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday, but meanwhile, Ronaldo will be keeping an observant eye on what his teammate, Karim Benzema, is up to.

As the two sides prepare for a rematch of the 2017 Champions League final – a Real Madrid victory – both Ronaldo and Benzema will once again attempt to unlock the Italian outfit’s steadfast backline, not by competing against one another on the scoresheet, but by helping each other succeed, often in one direction. As such, the two wily attackers have quietly formed one of the most symbiotic combinations in all of Europe, with manager Zinedine Zidane turning to a 4-4-2 formation this season to take advantage of the duo’s complementary skill sets.

However, Benzema has faced plenty of criticism this season. The Frenchman’s tally stands at a paltry eight goals over 29 matches, which is hardly comparable to some of the finest No. 9s around Europe. He isn’t even on pace to match his meager 19-goal tally from last season, and is far from equalling his career-high mark of 32 set during his third campaign in Spain back in 2011-12.

But after enjoying a decade of football at the Santiago Bernabeu, and having donned the captain’s armband at long last in what was his 400th appearance in the iconic white kit, Benzema has become one of the most effective forwards in world football for reasons beyond goal-scoring. It’s his ability to supplement teammates like Ronaldo that makes him so vital to his side.

“What interests me is not just his goals,” Zidane said of Benzema, as quoted by Marca. “Karim is a different type of player, he will not score 50 a season, but he has many other attributes.”

Though Zidane didn’t specify what he admires most in Benzema, a look at the manager’s preferred shape and the end product of those tactical decisions paints the picture of a mutually beneficial partnership. As Ronaldo underwent his transformation from a left-winger to a traditional striker – an evolution that Gianluigi Buffon said has made the forward an “assassin” in front of goal – Benzema has had to change his own style accordingly.

That Benzema boasts 114 assists in 400 matches is a testament to his natural inclination for supporting his teammates. He has nine assists thus far this season, averaging 0.7 per 90 minutes of play. It’s not quite the 1.3 assists per 90 minutes that Benzema recorded in his career-best 2012-13 campaign, but it’s still something Ronaldo benefits from most. In fact, 40 of Benzema’s all-time assists have come his way, more than any other player has provided him during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu.

It’s no wonder Ronaldo takes time to defend his French teammate from criticism.

“I always want to score but I provide assists as well,” Benzema said of his personal contributions. “That’s important for me, it’s the kind of football I enjoy.”

And there’s more to it than simply racking up assists. While Ronaldo scores the bulk of Real Madrid’s goals, it’s Benzema’s keen sense of space and movement that makes him such an effective complementary piece. His ability to pull defenders away and expose open spaces for Ronaldo is a talent that passes the eye test frequently enough – provided one takes a moment to look for it.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing Benzema as a striker who moves away from the presumed lane of play, but there’s often more thought behind those runs than one would think. Ronaldo himself will often pop up to tuck away a driven pass or a looping cross, all while an opposition defender or two watches on from just too far away, with a hand still tugging at Benzema’s shirt.

To that point, Zidane responded to Benzema’s critics by offering, “I like what Karim does for the team, he’s one of the best in this regard, and in the team game, I value that a lot.”

In a game that was once defined by selfish strikers and individual prowess, Benzema’s selflessness and sacrifice is a key component of Real Madrid’s attacking style, and perhaps an indication of changing tides; Roberto Firmino, Harry Kane, and many others are following the example he helped set throughout the last decade.

None of this should take away from Benzema’s nose for scoring. With 400 matches under his belt, the 30-year-old boasts 189 goals across all competitions, and is seventh in Real Madrid’s list of all-time top scorers. He even reached seventh in the team’s La Liga scoring chart when Ronaldo gave up his own potential 300th league goal – and his 50th hat-trick – so that Benzema might score just his fourth goal in the Spanish top flight this season, by gifting him a penalty against Alaves.

Though Benzema tucked the penalty away – cool as you like – it mattered little in the end, as the result was already assured at 3-0. Scoring isn’t his singular objective any longer. It won’t be against Juventus on Tuesday. It never really was.

(Photos courtesy: Getty)

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers started free agency strapped for cash (around $6.5 million in cap space) but looking to improve. While most of their needs were met on offense, the loss of linebacker Ryan Shazier to a spinal injury and the release of safety Mike Mitchell created two glaring holes that only one first-round pick can solve.

Two weeks later, as Steelers officials rolled through the halls of the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes in Orlando, Florida, for the NFL owners meetings, they were satisfied with the additions of linebacker Jon Bostic and safety Morgan Burnett and teasing more moves thanks to more than $3 million in leftover space.

“I wouldn’t say we’re done with free agency, because stuff changes,” said general manager Kevin Colbert, citing the need to be ready if talented players become available via release.

Here’s how the Steelers filled out their defense with minimal money:

Patience in linebacker/safety markets: The Steelers showed interest in many free-agent inside linebackers early in the process, including Denver’s Todd Davis and Cincinnati’s Preston Brown. But as several linebackers earned deals worth $5 million to $9 million per year, some of whom are considered two-down players, the Steelers decided they couldn’t spend that much.

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