3 Reasons why Juventus won against Atletico Madrid

Juventus continued the trend of sensational comebacks in the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League as they walloped Atletico Madrid 3-0 in Turin to secure a 3-2 aggregate victory.

In a breathless first half, the hosts asked several questions of the visitors’ defence and were rewarded in the 27th minute when Cristiano Ronaldo powered a header past Jan Oblak.

The second period followed a theme similar to the first with the Old Lady pushing and probing constantly. The tie-levelling goal arrived four minutes after the restart as Ronaldo doubled his tally for the night courtesy another header.

However, the Portuguese wasn’t finished as his 86th minute penalty ensured the home side overturned a two-goal deficit for the first time in their European history.

Here is a look at the three reasons which helped Juventus brush aside Atletico:

Also see : Copa America Schedule, Copa America Standings

#3 Juventus completely dominate every area of the pitch

The first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano was a cagey affair with Atletico emerging triumphant. Juventus, meanwhile, were uncharacteristically poor in Madrid and many panned them for their insipid display.

However, come the second leg, they looked a team possessed and they completely outclassed their Spanish counterparts.

The likes of Miralem Pjanic and Emre Can didn’t allow Saul, Koke and Rodrigo a sniff of the ball in midfield. The hosts were also able to cut out the passes into the middle third.

Thus, forcing the away side to resort to long balls with Alvaro Morata as the target man. Unfortunately, the Spaniard was marshalled superbly by the experienced pair of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci.

In Juventus’ attacking third, Atletico didn’t have an answer to Ronaldo’s direct running and Federico Bernardeschi’s trickery. While the former bagged his 8th Champions League hat-trick, the latter had a major role to play in the first and third goals.

On such days, there are hardly any teams across Europe who can rival Juventus’ tactical expertise and superb blend of pace and power. Though those qualities went missing in the first leg, they certainly came to the fore in Turin.

And if they keep conjuring such convincing displays, one would be very brave to bet against them going all the way.

#2 Atletico Madrid shoot themselves in the foot

Morata gave the ball away for the first goal

Atletico Madrid came into the game in Turin boasting of a healthy two-goal advantage. Thus, many earmarked them as the favourites to progress. However, the Spanish side spectacularly unravelled at the Allianz Stadium to hand Juventus a safe passage into the quarter-finals.

The visitors looked nervy from the outset and never got going. Diego Simeone’s men lacked imagination and their defensive tactics played into the hosts’ hands.

However, Atletico made things worse for themselves with some elementary errors.

For the first goal, Morata carelessly gave the ball away in midfield. The loose pass was latched upon by Bernardeschi who whipped in a perfect cross for Ronaldo. The second goal came about after the visitors invited another Juventus attack following an equally wretched giveaway by Thomas Lemar.

The tie-clinching goal was scored from the spot with Angel Correa guilty of some daft defending inside the box.

The final of the 2018-19 edition of the Champions League is scheduled to take place at the Wanda Metropolitano. Hence, many believed Atletico to pull out all the stops to make their ‘home’ final.

Yet, on Tuesday, the Spanish side dug its own grave to prolong its wait for a Champions League crown.

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo

Another European night, another hat-trick for Ronaldo

Nearly a year ago, Cristiano Ronaldo brought the Allianz Stadium to its feet with a virtuoso display against Juventus. And on Tuesday, he repeated the feat. Fortunately for the Old Lady, he was on their side this time around.

The Portuguese looked destined to make a decisive contribution from the off and looked fired up in the warm-up. He started the game brightly and opened the scoring with a trademark back-post header. However, that was only the initial spark of a fire that was to burn Atletico to smithereens.

In the second half, the forward ran rings around the visitors’ defence. The away side had no answer to his mazy dribbling and his movement. Inevitably, he found himself on the score-sheet again. To cap off his display, he dispatched a penalty to complete his hat-trick.

In the summer, Juventus spent an absolute fortune on Ronaldo to quench their thirst for European glory.

And if he can keep coming up with such goods in clutch situations, the money spent would be worth every penny. And that elusive Champions League crown might not be too distant a dream after all.