Tevez: Blame Juventus, not referee

Juventus striker Carlos Tevez has insisted that the referee is not culpable for his team's 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Cristiano Ronaldo hit a first-half double either side of a Fernando Llorente strike, but the encounter was marred by the dismissal of Giorgio Chiellini for a seemingly innocuous challenge on the Portuguese just three minutes into the second half.

But the Argentine has refused to point the finger of blame at referee Manuel Grafe for the result - which consequently leaves the Bianconeri third in Group B with just two points.

"We’re upset about the result, but it was a good performance and with a man down in the second half we still caused them problems," he told Sky Sport Italia. "We have time to recover from this situation, but we have to give our all on the field. I have no problem playing wherever the team needs me.

"We should think about ourselves and not the referee. If you make mistakes like we did, then Real Madrid do not forgive you. I can’t blame the referee, as we have to think about our own performance and the errors we made."