Juventus 1-0 Valencia: 5 takeaways

Juventus and Valencia faced off on matchday 5 of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night. The previous meeting between the two sides had ended in a 2-0 victory for Juventus. Juventus needed only one point to advance to the knockout stages. Valencia, on the other hand, were in a must-win situation in order to stay in the competition.

There were not many chances created in the first half, with both teams heading into the break with little to show for their efforts. Juventus broke the deadlock in the second half, inching ahead thanks to Mario Mandzukić with Cristiano Ronaldo providing the cross from the edge of the box. The Croatian then had the easiest of tasks to tap the ball in.

Valencia later thought they had an equalizer from a freekick but it was correctly ruled out as a result of a handball.

Juventus advanced through the only goal of the game and Valencia were knocked out of the Champions League.

Here are five talking points from the game.

#5 Valencia seemed devoid of ideas

Marcelino is under tremendous pressure to keep his job

Valencia were in desperate need of a win and needed to look for a goal early to have any chance. The first half was incredibly dull with both teams failing to make any clear-cut-chances. Valencia lacked a synergy that we expect to see from a team on the brink of elimination. They tried to build one or two attacks but were put to bed by the impenetrable defense of Juventus.

When on the defense, they were clueless and came close to conceding on multiple occasions. Dybala caused them problems with his passing and positioning, while Ronaldo was always a major threat throughout the game. Somehow, Valencia made it through the first half with only one major chance at goal.

From the start of the second half, Juventus looked hungrier to get a goal. Eventually, Valencia's continued failure to mark Ronaldo saw him set up the game's first and only goal.

Even after conceding, Valencia did not throw caution to the wind and attack with everything at their disposal. The introduction of Gameiro for Rodrigo, who is younger and more effective with pace. was also a move without a real intent. Marcelino was expected to perhaps change to a more attacking formation with three forwards but he did not do that either.

The closest Valencia got was the free-kick deflected in by Diakhaby. In the end, the lack of ideas brought Valencia's downfall. It now remains to be seen how much longer Marcelino can cling on to his job.

#4 Wojciech Szczesny's brilliant reflex save

Szczesny made one save but that was important nonetheless

Ever since Gianluigi Buffon left, Szczesny has guarded the sticks for Juventus with everything he has to give. There were talks of Juventus signing a new goalkeeper in the summer but they trusted Szczesny as their #1.

Szczesny might not have had to do a lot in yesterday's game but he was as influential towards the final result as any other player. He only had to make one save in the whole game but it was from an easy one. On the brink of half-time, Valencia won a corner and had a chance to upset the rhythm of the Bianconeri just before the break.

The corner in towards the near post met a powerful and well-positioned header by Mouctar Diakhaby. That was Szczesny's heroic moment when he showcased his sharp instincts and made a stunning reflex save. A goal at that moment would have led to a major momentum shift in the game. Valencia are a very capable team in parking the bus if they chose to do so, which seemed a very viable option had they got to halftime with a lead.

Szczesny's sharp save made the day for the Bianconeri.

#3 Still no goals galore for Cristiano Ronaldo

Everyone would associate Cristiano Ronaldo with goalscoring. He has already broken Juventus' club record for being the fastest to 10 goals, but in the Champions League, Ronaldo has not been his usual self in terms of scoring. He has got only one goal, that too in a losing cause for his team.

In comparison, Ronaldo had netted 9 times last year in the group stages. Only one of those goals came in a losing effort. Ronaldo's performance rating always depends on his goalscoring, simply because he is not as influential in the build-up play.

He was good against Valencia, disturbed the left wing defense quite a lot and also provided the crucial assist to Mandzukic. But still, for a player like Ronaldo who doesn't see most of the possession, the only thing that sets him apart is his goal tally. With all due respect, Ronaldo did not have a single dribble in the game and completed only 20 passes in the whole 90 minutes.

At least he is supposed to hit the target more often. He only hit the target three times out of the attempted eight shots. Less than 50% shots on target. We love to see Ronaldo scoring more and he better get into his groove before the knockout stages.

#2 The Ronaldo-Mandzukic tandem is Juventus' trump card

Ever since Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid, we thought about one thing? Will he ever find a good strike partner at Juventus. Albeit, he struggled in the initial phase at Juventus, he slowly integrated into the team and is now their top goalscorer.

In the process, Ronaldo found a strike partner in the Croatian, Mario Mandzukic. Ronaldo and Mandzukic account for more than 50% of the goals for Juventus in Serie A. They have 15 goals and 7 assists amongst themselves in the league. Moreover, both of them also assist each other for scoring.

Against Napoli, it was Ronaldo assisting Mandzukic and the Croatian returned the favor in the game against Udinese. Both of them scored in the wins against SPAL and AC Milan. Against Valencia yesterday, they linked well again. Ronaldo created an early scoring chance for Mandzukic which was wasted. But ultimately it was those two combining again in the second half to give Juventus the lead.

Both Ronaldo and Mandzukic seems to understand each other well. When Ronaldo is near the edge of the box Mandzukic has himself ready to receive the pass. When Mandzukic is running through the middle, Ronaldo overlaps to receive the pass. This strike partnership could do wonders for Juventus.

#1 Juventus are not title favourites and certainly not flawless

The addition of Cristiano Ronaldo has certainly strengthened the Juventus team. Lionel Messi himself said that Juventus are stronger with the ace Portuguese star in their ranks. But although Juventus are dominating Serie A, the same can't be said about Champions League.

Juventus had to play against two teams in Europe's Top 5 Leagues, both of which are not in their best form. Yet, they lost to Manchester United and yesterday even though they won against Valencia, it was not in the most convincing way. Their defense is solid and looks good, but at the attacking end, where they are supposed to be better, they lack the cutting edge.

19 shots and 6 on target against Valencia with only one goal. 23 shots and 3 on target against United at home. 14 shots and 5 on target against United away with one goal. These are Juventus' attacking stats in the Champions League. They are trying a lot of shots at goal but the amount of shots on target is well below 50%, dropping to a measly 13% against United's weak defense.

This type of attack can certainly not threaten teams like FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, given how they are playing at the moment. At the defensive end, they have not been tested but were still unable to cope with pressure by Manchester United. The defense has looked solid otherwise.

Against Valencia, it would be wrong to say that they were outstanding but they weren't as bad to create a worry for their fans and coach. But they showed that there are a lot of tweaks necessary to get them into a dangerous bunch of players. That is up to Max Allegri.