Max Allegri left with ‘bitter taste’ after late goal

The Italians had overturned a 3-0 first leg deficit against Real Madrid with a heroic display in the Bernabeu, only for a stoppage-time penalty to deny them extra time.

Opinion was split as to whether Medhi Benatia actually fouled Lucas Vazquez, with Gianluigi Buffon sent off by referee Michael Oliver for his protests. Either way, the penalty was dispatched by Cristiano Ronaldo as Juve crashed out.

Allegri offered a more composed reaction than Buffon – who launched into a tirade in the mixed zone – but was upset he did not get a chance to implement his plan for extra time.

"I have a bitter taste as we didn't have the chance to go to extra time," he said.

"Small details changed the whole tie unfortunately. I had two more substitutions planned for extra time and I was confident we could do it."

"The first leg had given me confidence we could do this and the side deserved at least extra time. To cry right now is useless."

He admitted that VAR could have helped Oliver in the decisive moment, but refused to be drawn into an argument about the technology's merits.

"I just told him [Oliver] it wasn't a clear penalty," Allegri added. "We've lost so there's not a lot to say [about VAR]. That's Uefa's problem.

"I have always said VAR is a useful tool that can help make objective decisions, but we don't have it here."

Meanwhile, Real boss Zinedine Zidane said he thought it was a penalty after the match – even if he also conceded that he had not seen the incident.

"It was a penalty, they’ve told me it was a penalty. I didn’t see it," he said.

"The ref awarded it and we can’t change that, but I think it was a penalty."