Bayern Munich made one of the greatest comebacks in recent Champions League history by beating Juventus 4-2 in extra time after being two goals down in the first half. Amidst all the drama Juventus had a goal disallowed for offside after Alvaro Morata chipped Manuel Neuer in the 23rd minute.
The German goalkeeper miskicked the ball and it bounced off Sami Khedira onto Morata’s feet but the linesman raised his flag despite the ball being in the back of the net. Replays afterwards showed that Morata was onside when he scored but the decision stood.
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Juventus’ Director General of Sports, Giuseppe Marotta lamented the decision after the match claiming things could have been different if the goal had stood. Speaking to Mediaset Premium he said, “The Alvaro Morata disallowed goal would've changed the face of the match. Certain errors at this level are costly, they make a big difference."
The Director felt the decision was harmful to Italian football saying,“I am not here to seek alibis, but I hope that in future Italian football is better protected. Certain refereeing performances are painful.”
But Pep Guardiola dismissed the arguments and said the Italian Giants were not in a position to complain about the decision. “Juventus are too big a club to complain about this.” "When you lose, you shake hands and go home. You compliment the opposition.” he added.
The Spaniard went on to state that these errors can happen to anyone and Juventus scored twice despite the disallowed goal. “They had chances and scored twice. Perhaps the goal was not offside, but these things happen in football.”
Bayern make incredible comeback
The Old Lady came into the game after having drawn Bayern 2-2 at home in the first leg. They took a shock lead by half-time after goals from Paul Pogba and Juan Cuadrado put the visitors ahead on aggregate.
Robert Lewandowski gave Munich hope after his header beat Buffon in the 73rd minute and Muller scored a 90th-minute equalizer to force the game into extra time. Bayern gained confidence from that goal as Thiago and Kingsley Coman scored in the second half of extra time helping the Germans progress into the quarter-finals
EPL will have four teams in 2017/18 Champions League
Despite Arsenal and Chelsea bowing in the round of 16 stage, Manchester City managed a 0-0 draw at home to Dynamo Kiev to progress through to the quarter-finals for the first time after winning 3-1 away from home.
The only two Italian teams left in the competition Juventus and Roma were both knocked out meaning England’s UEFA coefficient cannot be surpassed by Italy even if Lazio win the Europa league. Therefore, the Premier League will continue to have four representatives in the competition until the 2017/18 season.
