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Italian champions Juventus drew first blood in their quarter-final of the Champions League as they prevailed over a sturdy Monaco side courtesy of Arturo Vidal’s well-taken penalty in the second half.Having caused a major upset by ousting Arsenal in the previous round, the French outfit came to Turin high on confidence and also gave the Bianconeri a tough time for most part of the game.The home blew away some gilt-edged chances in the first half that would have put them comfortably in front and for all their efforts, were awarded a penalty when Alvaro Morata was fouled by Ricardo Carvalho in the box midway through the second half.Vidal stepped up and slotted the ball home coolly to score the winning goal and Juventus now take a slender advantage to France next week. Here are the 5 talking points from the game:
#1 Are Juventus losing their spark?
The runaway Serie A champs have been steamrolling their opponents all season and are on course for their first ever treble. They are 12 points clear at the top in the league, play Lazio in the finals of Coppa Italia and are the lone Italian representatives remaining in the Champions League. It was all plain sailing for Allegri’s men until the insolvent Parma stuck their oar in.
The Old Lady were stunned by the minnows last weekend, when they went down 1-0, creating shockwaves across the country. Parma, amidst all their financial fiasco, showed grit and determination and sent out a message that they still have life in them when they pegged back the holders for most of the game and also came up with a winner.
Juventus struggled to make their mark and ultimately paid for their mediocrity. The game against Monaco was similar to that.
The home side although enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, were seen struggling to hold sway over the visitors and whatever chances they created, they failed to convert them due to some profligate finishing.
Despite having a fully fit squad, Juventus were nowhere near their best. Even the return of Andrea Pirlo did little to inspire Le Zebre and they ground out a win only due to the penalty. They have now gone 2 games without a goal from the open play and their back-to-back substandard showings indicate that the Turin outfit may be losing their spark.
#2 Buffon\'s dexterity denies Monaco the away goals
It gets really hard to live by your own stratospheric standards when age starts catching up. Chinks develop in the armour and the player starts losing his stride. But in case of some special players like Gianluigi Buffon, it’s the opposite that happens. The Juventus stalwart has been as elegant as ever this season and this game was no different.
Inside 10 minutes of the game, the visitors created some brilliant chances that could have put them ahead, but Buffon, the saviour, burnished his glittering credentials with some dextrous showing below the bar.
Anthony Martial burst beyond Juventus' Leonardo Bonucci and picked out the unmarked Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco, only for the Bianconeri captain to thwart his effort. The Italy international then palmed away a deflected effort from Carrasco shortly after and repeated the save when Bernardo Silva tested him early in the second half.
Buffon used all his experience to position himself excellently and commanded his area with great authority. Had it not been for his sterling show in goal, Monaco would have left the field with an all-important away goal.
#3 Vidal makes up for the missed chances
Juventus, although far from their best, did manage to create a few chances which, if converted, would have truly tilted the tie completely in their favour. Some of the best chances of the evening fell to their Chilean star Arturo Vidal, who, unfortunately, squandered all of them.
At the stroke of half time, Tevez played a superb through ball to Vidal with the outside of his right foot, only for the 27-year-old to clumsily blaze it well over the crossbar. The chance, was perhaps, the closest one for the home team throughout the game.
The former Leverkusen man then got a chance to compensate for the missed opportunities when his side won a penalty when Morata was felled by Carvalho. Vidal kept his cool and calmly struck the ball home, which proved to be the decisive winning goal for his team.
The goal was his 7th of the season, and also, one of the most important.
#4 Kondogbia - The lone ranger
The two sides contested the game evenly, getting on to each other’s nerves, fighting tooth and nail. AS Monaco’s Geoffrey Kongdogbia was, however, the visitors’ toughest fighting warrior.
The French international was one of the best players in their 3-1 vanquishing of Arsenal in London in the previous round and was trusted with repeating the feat again. He did not disappoint though. Kondogbia was a tireless worker, both on and off thr ball, and his buccaneering runs gave Juve defenders a tough time in dealing with him.
The 22-year old attempted some long range shots and also pressed Stephan Lichtsteiner much deeper than usual, thus ensuring the Swiss full-back did not have many opportunities to break forward.
Monaco put up an admirable performance on the night, but their explosive midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia was the brightest spark.
#5 Pirlo may take time to get into his element
Having recuperated from the calf injury that sidelined him for more than 3 weeks, Juve’s deep-lying playmaker Andrea Pirlo made his much-awaited return to the squad and was immediately put back into the starting line-up. His performance throughout the game signified every bit of a player who had just returned from an injury and had minimal impact on the game.
With AS Monaco pressing him wherever he went, Pirlo was afforded very less space and that did yield them dividends, as it rendered him ineffective, obstructing him from making an influence on the game.
Although he had a hand in winning the penalty and also connected on 90% of his pass attempts (according to WhoScored), they were mostly ineffective balls to Leonardo Bonucci or Giorgio Chiellini that hardly made an impact on the proceedings.
Pirlo’s return may come as a confidence boost for the Italians, but the 35-year-old showed he may take some time to get into the groove and perform at his optimal level.
