On Wednesday evening at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Juventus beat Manchester City in the sixth round of the group stage in the Champions League, courtesy of goals from Dusan Vlahovic (53′) and Weston McKennie (75′).
The teams
Juventus head coach Thiago Motta was without the services of Gleison Bremer, Andrea Cambiaso, Nico Gonzalez, Juan Cabal and Arkadiusz Milik for this clash.
With Michele Di Gregorio in goal, Federico Gatti ed Pierre Kalulu in the heart of defence, flanked by Danilo and Nicolo Savona. Manuel Locatelli and Kephren Thuram ed forces in the middle of the park, with the trio of Francisco Conceicao, Teun Koopmeiners and Kenan Yildiz ing Vlahovic up front.
As for the visitors, they still sorely miss Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who isn’t expected to play this season. Manager Pep Guardiola was without three senior defenders as well – Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and John Stones. Winger Oscar Bobb still hasn’t returned from a broken leg suffered early in the campaign either.
Ederson Moraes was back between the posts, having yielded his role to Stefan Ortega in several previous matches. Josko Gvardiol played alongside Ruben Dias at the back, with Rico Lewis on the left and Kyle Walker on the right. With Rodri missing and Mateo Kovacic not fully fit, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva formed the two-man pivot in midfield. Kevin De Bruyne played further up as a No. 10, with Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku attacking from the flanks, and Erling Haaland representing the main focal point up front.
The game
Even without Rodri, City didn’t find it difficult to dominate possession, ending the game with the ball under their control for 69% of the time; and yet, they took fewer shots than the home side.
It was Juventus who threatened seriously first as Yildiz’s long-range effort in the 20th minute fizzed just wide of the post, but City came even closer 11 minutes later when De Bruyne threaded a trademark through the opposition defence and Haaland tried to chip it over Di Gregorio, forcing a great reflex reaction from the Juve ‘keeper. De Bruyne created another chance for his team early in the second half, employing Gundogan inside the box, but the veteran midfielder had his shot blocked.
Juventus responded in the 53rd minute, with Gatti firing a diving volley straight into Ederson. Yildiz picked up the ball on the left and whipped it back in, and Vlahovic beat Gvardiol at the far post with Ederson unable to keep the ball from going over the goal-line – Juventus were ahead.
Six minutes later, City could’ve gone level again as Grealish danced around a couple of opponents before setting Silva up for a great chance, but the Portuguese midfielder somehow managed to squander it. The visitors increased the pressure gradually and threatened twice from range as De Bruyne twice missed the target and Gundogan forced another excellent save from Di Gregorio.
But just as minute 74 was expiring, Danilo dispossessed Doku and started a counterattack, in which eventually substitutes Timothy Weah and McKennie played the main roles. The former found the latter unmarked inside the box, and McKennie, very similar to Gatti’s earlier attempt, fired a diving volley. But unlike Gatti, McKennie managed to beat Ederson and set what would be the final score of the game.
City had a 90th-minute penalty appeal as Lewis’ shot grazed against the body and the arm of Gatti on its way into Di Gregorio’s arms, but referee Clement Turpin from judged there had been no handball and the VAR saw no reason to intervene.
The aftermath
Juventus will face Club Brugge away and Benfica at home in the remaining fixtures of the group stage, and a single point from either game will be enough to secure a place in the knockout round. Their hopes of advancing straight into the round of 16 are very much alive as well, with only two points separating them from teams occupying places three to eight.
Domestically, a lot of work awaits Motta’s side if they intend to play in the Champions League next season as well. At the moment, they’re sixth in the Serie A standings.
Meanwhile, the situation is slowly becoming alarming for Manchester City. Still the reigning English champions, they await the verdict on the numerous charges against them for alleged financial wrongdoings, and they may well be relegated from the Premier League if the most serious among those are proven. The glorious triumphs of the team under Guardiola over the recent years have provided reasons for joy for their ers, but now, they’ve won just one of their last 10 games in all competitions.
In the Premier League, they trail leaders Liverpool by eight points already, and if the gap isn’t wide enough right now, the Merseysiders have a game in hand as well. Chelsea and Arsenal are ahead of City too, and finishing inside the top four might prove challenge enough; for the time being, defending the title looks like a distant dream.
Injuries have, of course, played their part in City’s misery, but a manager of Guardiola’s pedigree is arguably expected to find solutions for those problems. The Catalan coach, however, appears to be losing his grip at the moment, looking more nervous by the week.
In the Champions League, City are 22nd in the group standings, level on points with PSV Eindhoven and Dinamo Zagreb – not a very good look for the team that won a historic treble the season before last. They should be able to land a spot in the play-offs and advance to the knockout stage, but they cannot afford to relax when they face Paris Saint-Germain and Club Brugge in the remaining rounds.
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