Ninety minutes away from a place in the UEFA Champions League final, both Juventus and Monaco set out to do battle in the 2nd leg of their semi-final tie. With Monaco still reeling from the 2-0 defeat at the Stade Louis II, they were unable to overturn the insurmountable odds. The road to Cardiff took a definitive turn as it was Juventus who booked their place in the revered final.
Mario Mandzukic opened the scoring in the 33rd minute after pouncing on an exquisite cross from Dani Alves. The Brazilian later decided to take matters into his own hands 10 minutes later by executing a low-drilled volley to perfection. Going into halftime, the Italians were firmly in control with a four-goal lead in hand.
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After the break, Leonardo Jardim’s men tried to even the books but they could only muster up one goal in the 69th minute. Things would stay the same until full time and the history books will record a 4-1 Juventus aggregate triumph.
Here are the biggest 5 talking points from the game.
#5 Gianluigi Buffon is still one of the best
At the age of 38, Gianluigi Buffon is still one of the best keepers on the planet. The Italian exuberates quality, class and excellence like no other player. In a day and age where first team players are getting younger by the minute, Buffon has stood the test of time. Funnily enough, Buffon has literally been playing football longer than Kylian Mbappe has been breathing. And today he didn’t look like he’d lost even a step.
Whilst he wasn’t troubled into making many saves thanks to his defence, for a man under such intense pressure from Monaco’s forwards, Buffon was still able to complete 76% of his passes. In terms of kicking from dead ball positions, he only missed his target Mario Mandzukic on one occasion. That’s what you call pinpoint excellence at the highest level, even at the age of 38.
#4 Monaco’s 3-4-1-2 proved ineffective
Leonardo Jardim’s choice to go with two upfront with Bernardo Silva roaming completely backfired. The Portuguese manager should have instead gone man for man with Juventus’s back three, thus occupying them all times. This could have created overloads as runners from midfield provided 3rd man runs from all angles.
Instead, Jardim’s system relied on width provided by the full-backs Benjamin Mendy and Andrea Raggi. While Mbappe and Falcao operated more centrally as inside forwards. It became futile as Juve’s centre-backs dominated aerially and wing-backs Alex Sandro & Dani Alves nullified Monaco’s width. On another day, a bolder approach from Jardim could have been all the difference the French team needed.
#3 Dani Alves is as good as they come
After producing a man of the match performance in the first leg, Dani Alves thought he might as well top it all off by scoring a goal that even ex-teammate Lionel Mesi would be proud of. Alves was in sublime form as the 34-year old created three chances, completed 85% of his passes in the final third and won 67% of his tackles. With two assists and a goal to his name, Alves is the undisputed MVP of the tie.
Just to show how dominant he was through the match, the full-back had more touches than anyone else in the first half. He was influential in attack and dominant in defence keeping the dangerous Benjamin Mendy at bay. After creating the first and scoring the second, Alves’ tally goes up to seven in terms of Champions League goals he was involved in this season. He’s the best of both worlds and he’ll relish getting his hands on another Champions League title.
#2 Kylian Mbappe proves his worth
At just 18 years of age, Kylian Mbappe has scored six goals in this year’s Champions League, something unheard of for a player of his age. And after yesterday’s goal, the 18-year old has become the youngest player ever to score in a Champions League semi-final. In fact, only Thierry Henry has reached six Champions League goals quicker than Kylian Mbappe.
The kid is truly special and he’s not only proving it domestically but also in the midst of Europe’s elites. Mbappe has scored 25 goals this season after only breaking into the first team last year; simply put- he’s incredible.
#1 Another Massimiliano Allegri masterclass
This season it has been a rarity to see AS Monaco nullified, but Massimiliano restricted the free-flowing team to just one goal in 180 plus minutes. The Italian turned the fiercest pack of wolves in Europe into harmless pups. Juventus had gone 680 minutes in Europe without conceding a goal before Mbappe’s tap in and in that time they’ve scored fifteen times. Juve are now unbeaten in their last 12 European games, winning 9 of them and drawing three.
The Champions League is only a small component of Allegri’s success with Juventus, his team are now unbeaten in their last 50 home games in all competitions. The 49-year old’s 3-4-2-1 system covers all spaces on the pitch, whilst also exposing the ones vacated by the opposition. Allegri seems to have paved the way for modern football with the implementation of a three at the back system without leaving the team exposed defensively.
