a vecchia signora of Italian football faced the old lion problem, that of effectiveness (or lack thereof) and came out on top. One goal in two shots against zero goals in six shots on target (and 16 in total). Sporting were looking for their first win in Italy, but, as with the other 15 trips, returned without knowing the taste of victory (12 defeats and four draws).
The win by the narrowest margin (1-0) leaves Juventus feeling uneasy for the visit to Lisbon in a week. This Thursday, the two teams will meet again at Estádio José Alvalade to decide who will advance to the semi-finals of the Europa League.
Today, in Turin, both teams played as usual with three central defenders and kept their identity for the European game. Rúben Amorim promoted three lineup changes – Gonçalo Inácio, St. Juste and Morita – betting on Pedro Gonçalves instead of Ugarte, who was serving the penalty. Allegri also made three changes – Danilo, Chiesa and Milik replaced Alex Sandro, Fagioli and Vlahovic – but played in 3-4-3 instead of the usual 3-5-2.
Strengthening the Italian midfield would have the intention of stopping Sporting, but know how vecchia signora likes to play, this can also be considered a trap. Juventus started better and were the first team to threaten and Adán the first to be tested. At 12 minutes Chiesa Juve just couldn’t get any further in the game because the keeper stopped him with a nice save.
After that it was almost only Sporting. Morita, Coates, Pedro Goncalves, Nuno Santos. Four shots on target and no effectiveness. Rúben Amorim had said that only a “very perfect Sporting” could win in Turin and he did everything he could to achieve that… but at the time he wasn’t perfect.
Fear from left to right
Just before the break, Szczesny felt bad (complaining of chest pains) and eventually left the field on his own foot, but he was very concerned and was replaced by Mattia Perin. The referee gave another four minutes of stoppage time and St. Juste would also leave the field before the break and make way for Diomande. Unbelievable the willingness of the central leonine to sustain muscle injuries: of the 32 games in which he was used, he only completed the 90 minutes 9 times!
Halftime at the Juventus Stadium ended without goals, but with a great performance from Sporting, the most dangerous team and with more scoring opportunities in the first 45 minutes and more possession than the home team (56%). The Lions came back confidently for the second half and Pedro Gonçalves forced Perin to stretch to avoid scoring. Amorim’s team did almost everything right, but they lacked the luck that smiles at the daring or, as the leonine coach likes to say, the little star.
Gatti gave life to Juventus
Trincão tried to appear in the game, but he was too composed on the field to be free and fast, as he was at Casa Pia, on Easter Sunday, when he scored three goals in the Lions’ win (4-3). On the day it became known that the option to buy the pass was automatically activated (becoming a lion until 2027), the winger had another less successful game.
In the 73rd minute and already with Dusan Vlahovic on the field, Federico Gatti enlivened Juventus with a goal against the run of play. A goal conceded from a corner that exposes a European vulnerability that urgently needs to be addressed quickly. Of the five goals conceded at the time, four were in European competition.
It was necessary to have a head and think about the second leg and Rúben Amorim strengthened the midfield and refreshed the defense. Morita, Pedro Gonçalves and Bellerín again drove the fans to despair with three more clearly missed opportunities. Much praise also goes to the Italian defense and Perin, who loomed large to prevent Sporting from playing a draw.
Source: DN
