Author: Crazy

The coach failed to change the course of his side’s destiny, while his two most experienced players came up short as Bayern Munich took a decisive first-leg lead

COMMENT
By Kris Voakes | Italian Football Writer

Juventus’ worst performance under Antonio Conte could not have come at a more inopportune moment. The Bianconeri were overrun by Bayern Munich on Tuesday to leave their Champions League future hanging by the most slender of threads.

Bayern may have struck lucky in that Toni Kroos’ injury led to a substitution which helped to ask extra questions of the Old Lady’s backline, but there can be no doubting that the Bavarian giants were very good value for the 2-0 lead they take to Turin for the second-leg of their quarter-final tie next week.

Indeed, with Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon suffering on the big stage like never before, and Conte being asked to provide answers and coming up short in almost every sense, this was one of the biggest adverts ever for earning your own luck. The hosts dominated and were deserving. The Bianconeri were ponderous and paid the price.

Juve went into the match defending an 18-game unbeaten run in European competitions, but they were blown away by a Bayern side that looked more powerful, more structured and downright hungrier on the night.

‘BAYERN WERE A STEP ABOVE’

THE GERMAN VIEW

“As Juventus looked to continue their path to the top of European football, they were taught a harsh lesson by Bayern Munich, a team with hopes of reaching their third Champions League final in four years. Their showing against the Bianconeri was marvellous. The defence stood firm, repelling any threat that came their way, producing the sort of discipline which wins titles, the midfield were dominant, despite the early reshuffle into which they were forced, and Mario Mandzukic did a great job as a lone striker, hassling his opponents all night long. It was precisely the performance one could hope to see in the Champions League. At the end of the day, Bayern’s desire, tactics and class were a step above Juve’s.” Enis Koylu

It certainly wasn’t meant to be Pirlo who would come up short on the big occasion. The normally reliable regista completed only 51 per cent of passes in an abysmal showing by his high standards. Regularly run off the ball and constantly rushed into misplacing through-balls, the midfielder looked less than average on this performance, despite having successfully handled much more important fixtures than this one before.

“I am the first to say I’m not satisfied with my performance, as I made many mistakes in such an important match and it’s disappointing,” admitted Pirlo afterwards.

He wasn’t helped by many of his team-mates shying away from the spotlight and asking him to provide all of the answers, but there can be no denying this was a Pirlo display the likes of which we very rarely see. Buffon would also come up short when it mattered.

In the very first minute, David Alaba fired in a speculative long-range effort that took a deflection and swerved away from goalkeeper into the bottom corner. The touch off the boot of Arturo Vidal added spin onto the ball which deceived him, but there was enough time for Buffon to react. Instead of taking the extra half-step he needed to shorten his dive, the Italy captain went down early and was beaten all ends up.

Later, he would fail to convincingly deal with Luiz Gustavo’s free-kick, parrying only as far as the onrushing Mario Mandzukic, who squared for Thomas Muller to make it 2-0. His usual knack of shuttling the ball right out of danger failed him on this occasion, and while he wasn’t helped by a Juve back-line slow to react to the follow-up, he will believe he could have dealt with it better.

But neither Pirlo nor Buffon was helped by their coach’s lack of tactical vision. “We now have to analyse why we had so many misplaced passes,” Pirlo added in a post-match interview, but such analysis could and should have taken place during the game itself. For too long in the first period the Bianconeri succeeded only in constantly handing over cheap possession in their eagerness to recycle the ball quickly.

Crucial second | Muller nets after Buffon could only parry Luiz Gustavo’s free kick

Conte showed no urgency to halt an alarming trend as Juve continued to waste possession and even at half-time he did nothing to change his side’s fortunes. Arjen Robben had wasted a couple of glorious chances after roasting the Bianconeri down the left, but while the substitution of the outclassed Federico Peluso appeared a no-brainer, Conte persisted with the full-back and paid the price.

The ball just kept coming back once more after the break, and when Bayern’s second goal sparked Conte into action, it was only a pair of like-for-like changes up top that he had up his sleeve. The switch did nothing to alleviate the pressure nor change the general flow of the game. The Juve coach will need to deliver a much more convincing tactical approach in the second leg if his side are to get out of this hole.

Luck was not on Juve’s side, and neither were some of the key decisions made by referee Mark Clattenburg. Mandzukic was offside as Gustavo shot at goal in the build-up to Muller’s clincher, while Stephan Lichtsteiner will miss the second leg after a baffling yellow card for an unavoidable collision with Luiz Gustavo in the penalty area. Clattenburg deemed it to be an act of simulation, but he was clearly wrong in his assertion. Franck Ribery also deserved a red card for a ridiculous stamp on Arturo Vidal, but none was forthcoming.

Vidal and Lichtsteiner will both sit out the second leg due to suspension, further weakening Juve’s slim chances of reaching the last four. Their usually stronger right side could undergo the kind of examination their left flank received on Tuesday, but that is for another day. Today, the Bianconeri are on the brink, and they have no one to blame but themselves.

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The Bianconeri trainer was full of respect for the Bundesliga giants following Tuesday’s encounter at the Allianz Arena

Antonio Conte has admitted that Juventus were simply not good enough in the first-leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich, following a one-sided 2-0 defeat.

An early goal from David Alaba, followed by a Thomas Muller strike after the break, helped the Bavarians to a comfortable home win, and Conte realises his side now face a tough task to turn things around in the second leg.

“Bayern played a great game. We just came up against a great team tonight. I have to be honest and admit that we simply faced a better side,” Conte said at a press conference.

“We knew it would be a difficult game but we also know that football is unpredictable and that we’ll have to do something great against such a strong team in the return leg. 

“Bayern have great quality but also a great physical condition and a great fighting spirit. They are up there with Barcelona and Madrid in terms of quality yet they are also very angry after losing last season’s final at home on penalties. And they proved all their grit tonight. 

“Bayern played with great tempo, they won almost every challenge and did not allow us to play our game. Our project started only 16 months ago, so this can be an important lesson, especially to understand what it takes to play at this level. We can just be proud to already be here at this stage.”

Juve resume Serie A action on Saturday at home against Pescara.

The Italian defender was impressed with the workrate of the German side, claiming they were worthy winners but asserts that the tie is far from over

Giorgio Chiellini has admitted that Juventus could not cope with Bayern Munich’s tempo and intensity after the Italian side were comprehensively defeated 2-0 at the Allianz Arena in the Uefa Champions League quarter-final first leg.

The Bianconeri had conceded the fewest goals in the competition prior to kick-off but their 490-minute European spell without conceding was brought to a sudden end when David Alaba struck after just 25 seconds.

Speaking to Sky Sport Italiaafter the game, Chiellini said: “We knew it was going to be a difficult match for us, Bayern played at an incredible tempo and we struggled to keep possession when we were trying to build our game from the back.

“We hoped to earn a better result tonight but there are 90 minutes left; we will have to play with more intensity, like Bayern did today.”

Chiellini also admitted that he was concerned by the Bianconeri‘s lacklustre performance but said they will perform better in the return leg in Turin next Wednesday.

“We know we can play better than today and I’m sure we will. We will continue to dream and we will make sure that we won’t have any regrets after the return leg.”

Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon added that Bayern deserved the victory and felt that his side were fortunate to escape with a two-goal deficit.

“It’s clear we had some certainties about ourselves, but there’s nothing to say tonight, as they thoroughly deserved the victory and had even more chances to hurt us.

“Our opponents were better on the night, that is the truth. At times we had less sharpness under their pressure and I tried to alternate passes with longer kicks.”

The 35-year-old shotstopper also commented on Alaba’s opening goal, claiming that a significant deflection off Vidal influenced the direction of the ball.

“Alaba’s shot got a deflection and I was moving towards the right, but the change of direction caught me out. I had already made a step to the right and the ball changed direction mid-air.”

Meanwhile Juve midfielder Andrea Pirlo, who did not enjoy one of his finer performances in a Bianconeri jersey – achieving a pass completion of just 51% accuracy, said he was not happy with his display.

“I am the first to say I’m not satisfied with my performance, as I made many mistakes in such an important match and it’s disappointing,” he said.

“We now have to analyse why we had so many misplaced passes. Clearly we need something more in the second leg, as what we did tonight was not enough.”

Juventus will look to overcome the two-goal deficit on Wednesday April 10 but they will have to do so without Arturo Vidal and Stephan Lichtsteiner who will miss out through suspension after picking up yellow cards.

The veteran coach was delighted with his 2-0 win over the Bianconeri after their preparation work paid off

Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes believes his side were worthy victors against Juventus at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

A 2-0 win for the Germans helped put them in a commanding position ahead of the second leg in Turin next week, and the former West Germany forward feels his preparation work paid off.

“We were very well prepared for this match,” he told Sky after the match.

“You could see that in our tactics. We attacked them very early and took Pirlo out of the game collectively. The early goal gave us safety and we played amazingly at some points after that.

“I studied Juventus over and over again. We are happy to have won the match against an Italian without conceding. We played high-class football. We controlled and dominated the match. And against the Italian champions. I must compliment my team.”

Meanwhile, Thomas Muller, who scored his side’s second goal, was happy with his side’s workrate, and feels they forced Andrea Pirlo into submission.

“We played with lots of intensity in both directions. Our defensive work started with the forwards. You could see that we  wanted to win.

“I don’t think it was just Pirlo having a bad day. We put Juventus under pressure so early and forced them into long balls.”

Finally, Bastian Schweinsteiger was relieved that his side got a potentially-crucial second goal ahead of a tough second leg at the Juventus Stadium.

“The result is good. It wasn’t easy – the Italians have tactics that no team in the Bundesliga plays. My feeling tells me we deserved more than one goal.

“We did not concede and defended well. It’s never easy to play in Turin. It would be good if we scored there.”

Bayern Munich took a significant step towards the semi-finals of the Champions League with a commanding 2-0 first-leg success over a strangely subdued Juventus side at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday evening.

After opening the scoring inside a minute courtesy of a deflected drive from David Alaba, the runaway Bundesliga leaders dominated what many felt would be the most closely contested of the four quarter-finals and were full value for a victory which was deservedly capped by a second-half strike from Thomas Muller.

Bayern had gone into the game on the back of a devastating 9-2 domestic defeat of Hamburg but even they could not have imagined that they would open the scoring against the tightest defence in the Champions League with such ease.

Less than 25 seconds had elapsed when an uncharacteristically sloppy pass from Andrea Pirlo allowed Bastian Schweinsteiger to put Alaba into space some 35 yards out. Even then, there appeared to be little threat to the Juventus goal, but the Austria international’s subsequent strike took a slight deflection off Vidal that deceived Gianluigi Buffon, who, having inexplicably committed himself to a dive to his right, was unable to scramble back across his line to keep out a bouncing ball that was not travelling at any great pace.

Credit to the visitors, they responded well to the concession of such an early goal, and Pirlo fired a free kick just over the Bayern bar seconds before midfield partner Vidal flashed a well-struck shot inches wide as the Bianconeri enjoyed a brief spell of dominance.

The loss of Toni Kroos to injury after 16 minutes appeared further cause for concern for Bayern but the introduction of Arjen Robben coincided with a sustained spell of pressure for the hosts, with the Dutchman very nearly doubling his side’s advantage with a snapshot volley that Buffon did well to block with his feet.

Franck Ribery then saw a low strike unluckily deflected wide by Bonucci, after the industrious Mario Mandzukic had brilliantly dispossessed a sleeping Andrea Barzagli, before Robben squandered another excellent opening on 32 minutes, dragging Muller’s terrific cut-back wide of the right post with the entire goal at his mercy.

Juve served a timely reminder of their set-piece threat just before the break when Giorgio Chiellini headed a Pirlo corner just over, but it was clear that the Bianconeri, who had not managed a single shot on target in the opening 45 minutes, would need a drastically improved second-half showing if they were to save an unbeaten away record in European competition that stretched back to 2010.

As it was, Bayern continued to carry the far greater attacking threat and Mandzukic tested Buffon with a low strike after being released into space by Schweinsteiger. The crucial second goal that Bayern undeniably deserved arrived just after the hour mark.

Again, there was some fortune involved. Mandzukic was offside when Luiz Gustavo hit a shot that Buffon was unable to hold, but the hosts deserved their good luck and Mandzukic had to be applauded for the way in which he coolly collected the rebound before leaving Muller with a tap-in.

The beleaguered Bianconeri managed to muster a shot on goal in the final quarter, with Manuel Neuer easily parrying a Vidal shot away to safety, but Muller very nearly added a third Bayern goal at the end of what was already a bitterly disappointing night for the Italians. They must now attempt to overturn a two-goal deficit in the second leg without Vidal and Stephan Lichsteiner, both of whom where booked in Bavaria.