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Juventus welcomed Atletico Madrid to Turin with a big task at hand. The La Liga side were coming into the game with a 2 goal lead from the first leg. Diego Simeone’s side knew that a draw or a 1 goal defeat would be enough to see them through to the quarterfinals.
The Old Lady, on the other hand, needed to be at their best on the night, because they knew all Atletico had to do was sit back and defend. The Juventus Manager set his team up keeping that in mind. Szczesny started in goal, with Cancelo, Bonucci, Chiellini, and Spinazzola as the back four. Emre Can, Pjanic and Matuidi made up the midfield, while at the front, Bernardeschi and Cristiano Ronaldo started either side of Mandzukic.
Juventus began the game well and pegged Atletico Madrid back right from kick off. Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 27th minute and the first half ended 1-0 to the home side.
After the break, the Portuguese doubled the score, and the home side grew in confidence. Ronaldo won the game for his side when he scored from the spot in the 86th minute, sending the stadium into wild celebrations.
Juventus rode on the brilliance of their Portuguese superstar to win the game and the tie and advance to the quarterfinals. However, Allegri also deserves credit for getting his plan right and here we take a look at 5 tactics from the Juventus Manager that won the game.
#5 Going for the early goal
Juventus started the game very strongly and sent men forward right from the start in search of the decisive first goal. Allegri knew that to win the tie, he had to score first because if Atletico scored, it could have had a demoralizing effect on his team.
The Serie A giants were relentless in their pursuit of a goal and were rewarded in the 27th minute when Ronaldo scored. It settled the nerves, gave the home team a sense of purpose and also got the home crowd charged up. Juventus never looked back from there.
The home team started the second half similarly and it was their desire that got them the second goal and brought them back into the tie.
#4 Intense pressing football
Atletico Madrid have a physical, intense style of play that often intimidates their opponents and forces them into submission. They had used the same tactics on Juventus in the first leg and had been successful in keeping Ronaldo at bay. Allegri knew that he had to beat the Spanish side in their own game if he wanted to win the tie.
The Juventus manager sent his men out to battle and set them out to press the away side right from the start of the game. It was a tactic that unsettled Atletico and they never recovered from it. Emre Can, Matuidi and Pjanic roamed the center of the park like warriors possessed and did not let go of the reins for a moment. This had Atletico pegged back into their own half and also forced them into uncharacteristic errors. Juventus started winning balls back and denied the away side a moment of respite.
In the end, it was a tactic that worked brilliantly for Allegri and enabled Juventus to win the game.
#3 Nullifying threat of opposition attackers
Diego Simeone knew that the home team would come at them with everything in their arsenal and as such plotted to exploit the spaces on the counter. However, Allegri seems to have anticipated these tactics from his opposite number and ensured that the away side found little joy in the final third.
Alvaro Morata had a couple of sniffs at goal, but apart from that, Atletico possessed little threat on the night. The occasion was there for them to capitalize, but Allegri's placement of his midfield and defense left little space for the away side to work in. Juventus paid close attention to Griezmann and refused him time or space on the ball. The midfield also covered well for the marauding full-backs and ensured that Juventus were never caught out on the counter.
Allegri's tactics pegged Juventus back and nullified their offensive threat. This enabled Juventus to take control of the tie.
#2 Wing play
Atletico crowded up the numbers in the middle and refused the home side any space through the center. They protected their back four and held their own whenever Juventus tried to thread passes through the middle. Allegri, as a countermeasure, pushed his full-backs forward and played them as wing-backs, a decision that broke the opposition down.
Cancelo and Spinazzola bombed forward all night. They seemed to run on endless energy that refused to be replenished and both full-backs were relentless in their pursuit of spaces. Because Atletico piled up the bodies in the center to contain the threat of the forward players of Juventus, it left a lot of space down the sides and Allegri made optimum use of the opportunity to influence the game.
Juventus sent in crosses all through the night and their tactics got the better of Atletico. It was from two such balls from the wings that Ronaldo scored two goals and set the home side on course to win the tie.
#1 Using Ronaldo’s abilities to the fullest
Ronaldo had a free role as usual and Mandzukic and Bernardeschi were tasked with creating spaces for the Portuguese to run into. While Atletico crowded the middle to deny Ronaldo any room or time on the ball, Allegri made use of one of the Portuguese's most dangerous talents - heading.
There are few people in the world who can head the ball as cleanly and with as much power as Ronaldo and Juventus knew that they could use his aerial prowess to their advantage. The home side sent in a plethora of crosses and Ronaldo needed just two of them to bring his team back into the tie.
The first came in the 27th minute from a Bernardeschi cross that was powered home by the Portuguese. The second was even better! As Cancelo sent in a cross, Ronaldo managed to generate incredible power in his header even under acute marking. Oblak pawed the ball away, but it had already crossed the line!
And in the 86th minute, when Juventus were awarded a penalty, up stepped the man who had an incredible record from penalties. As expected, Ronaldo scored and sent Juventus through.
