Juve beats Monaco, claims spot in Champions League final

Winning 4-1 on aggregate, the storied Italian team are headed to the final for the second time in three years, though they last won Europe's elite club competition in 1996.

Monaco, meanwhile, can look back on a successful Champions League campaign that saw them defeat heavyweights Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund in the knockout stage and quarterfinals, respectively.

Juve started the night as the clear favorites after prevailing 2-0 in the first leg in Monaco, but the hosts had some disquieting moments in the early going.

Monaco's budding star, 18-year-old Kylian Mbappe, hit the post with a shot not long before the home side lost Sami Khedira to injury in the 10th minute.

As the minutes passed, however, Juventus asserted their dominance and began to swarm the visiting goal.

Gonzalo Higuain, Mario Mandzukic, and Miralem Pjanic wasted successive scoring chances before the Croatian international knocked in a rebound in the 33rd minute to make it 1-0 on the night before 41,000 fans in Turin.

In the final minute of the first half, Dani Alves put Juve up 2-0, connecting with a great volley from distance to post his 10th goal of the current Champions League tourney.

Leading 4-0 on aggregate, Juventus looked to be fully in command, but Mbappe managed to create some excitement with a goal in the 69th minute.

Juve, who fell to Barcelona in the 2015 final, can look forward to facing another Spanish club in the June 3 showdown at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Real Madrid, on a quest to become the first club to win the Champions League in successive years, thumped Atletico Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of their semifinal tie and are expected to finish off their cross-town rivals in Wednesday's second leg.