Marchisio: 'Qualification difficult now'

Claudio Marchisio admits Champions League qualification is “more and more difficult” after a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid.

The Bianconeri are now third in their group on two points, as Galatasaray have four and Real Madrid nine.

“Things became more complicated after the red card,” he told SportMediaset.

“Playing with 10 men against a side as strong as Real Madrid is never easy. After their goal we reacted very well, but with this defeat qualification becomes more and more difficult.”

The turning point of the game was straight after the restart when Giorgio Chiellini was shown a harsh red card.

“I don’t think his gesture was worthy of a red card, even if he raised his arm a little,” continued Marchisio.

“Cristiano Ronaldo could’ve stayed on his feet, but he didn’t. In any case, we still compliment Real Madrid for a good performance.

“Losing the next match at home would mean saying goodbye to qualification.”

However, it is possible for Juve to qualify even with a defeat to Real Madrid, as long as they beat Copenhagen in Turin and Galatasaray in Turkey.

Of course, they would also need Real to keep taking points off the other two teams.