UEFA Champions League 2018-19, Juventus 3-0 Atletico Madrid: 5 Hits and Flops

Juventus witnessed one of the best days in their history over the last decade by overcoming a huge hurdle to beat Atletico Madrid in their own backyard. Diego Simeone's side brought a 2-0 lead to Turin, but that was overturned by Massimiliano Allegri's men, thanks to a hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Old Lady kept on pushing high up the pitch and caused problems for Atletico Madrid's defence since minute one. Their work finally got rewarded when Federico Bernadeschi's cross found Cristiano Ronaldo's head in the 27th minute. For the remainder of the half, Atletico Madrid had possession and saw the game through to the half-time interval.

The visitor's tactics did not work out and were submerged when Joao Cancelo crossed the ball to Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese International did nothing wrong to head the ball to equalize the score on aggregate. Atletico Madrid decided to push higher up the pitch, but they were caught on the break by Federico Bernadeschi's exceptional run.

The Italian International was clipped by Angel Correa inside the penalty box. The record signing of Juventus delivered by converting from the spot-kick to silence his critics yet again. It was an exceptional performance from the hosts to change a resounding lead.

There were several standout performances from this game, but we shall look at top five hits and flops.

#1 Hit - Cristiano Ronaldo

The big man rose up to the occasion once again! Cristiano Ronaldo was on the scoresheet thrice to take Juventus to the last eight of the competition and eliminate his former rivals Atletico Madrid.

The Juventus forward was the pick of the players in the first leg, but the whole team showed an amelioration in their performance to progress in the second part of the tie. Federico Bernadeschi produced an excellent ball in the first half, but the header was even better to beat Jan Oblak from close range.

The Portuguese International was known for his leaps, and Ronaldo did no harm by doing that to level parity in the aggregate score. Just like Atletico looked like causing problems to Juventus' defence, Bernadeschi broke through the counter-attack and won a penalty.

Last year, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a stoppage-time penalty to eliminate Juventus from the quarterfinals, but he took his chance for his current side to give a chance of ending their Champions League drought.

#2 Flop - Diego Godin

Diego Godin was battling out to be fit for this clash following a thigh problem. However, despite his relentless pain, the Uruguyuan international decided to wear the famous old shirt and armband to lead Atletico Madrid at Allianz Stadium.

During the first leg, Diego Godin was mammoth and did not allow any player to run past him. But, it was a totally different complexion in the second leg in front of the away crowd. The Atletico Madrid forward struggled to cope up with Cristiano Ronaldo and Federico Bernadeschi who produced one of the best ever performances in recent years.

When Joao Cancelo was looking to find someone in the middle, Cristiano Ronaldo was left unmarked as leaped over every defender to find the back of the net. There is no doubt that Godin lacked incisiveness and concentration like he already does. He cannot be blamed for the rest two goals, but he did not get much right in defensive areas.

#3 Hit - Federico Bernardeschi

Bernardeschi was one of the main men of the match

There were plenty of eyebrows when Federico Bernardeschi was selected over the Argentine Paulo Dybala for this game. Massimiliano Allegri's tactics to play him over the former Palermo forward paid off as the Italian International put in a massive shift for Juventus.

The 25-year-old was the reason for two Juventus goals and played a pivotal role in their victory. Bernadeschi produced a peach of a cross to find Cristiano Ronaldo in the first half. At the end of the game, he ran all the way from Juventus' half to opponent's half and won a penalty by drifting in inside.

Juventus' number 7 took the penalty calmly to slot it past helpless Jan Oblak. Besides his contributions to the final third, the Juventus forward was penetrating through the opponent's defence and attack to give a sustained headache to Diego Simeone. He was easily the second best player for the Old Lady.

#4 Flop - Santiago Arias

The Colombian International Santiago Arias, who moved to Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2018, did not particularly enjoy a good outing at Allianz Stadium. During the first half, he was enfeebled by Leonardo Spinazzola, Blaise Matuidi, and Cristiano Ronaldo in the right-hand side of the defence.

The Colombian international failed to close Federico Bernadeschi for the first goal which gave enough time for the Italian International to find Cristiano Ronaldo inside the penalty box. The right-back was caught on the break numerous occasions, but the Old Lady failed to capitalize with those moments.

When Atletico Madrid had their chances with crosses to find Alvaro Morata, the former PSV defender failed to capitalize with it which frustrated Diego Simeone to make a substitution in the 76th minute. He was replaced by the winger Vitolo who had very little time to have an impact on the game.

#5 Hit - Giorgio Chiellini

Giorgio Chiellini was one of the reasons for Juventus to keep the clean sheet. The Italian International put in an enormous shift to keep the head of Alvaro Morata from scoring and secure the qualification.

The Juventus captain was hugely involved in the build-up for the first goal. When Atletico Madrid had very few players tracking behind, he rolled over the ball to Federico Bernadeschi in the left wing. It was a pivotal moment in the game and Chiellini deserves credit for acting promptly.

When Juventus were searching for their winner, he looped over the midfielders and defenders to find Moise Kean who was one on one against the goalkeeper Jan Oblak. Unfortunately, the youngster failed to hit the ball on target which gave another chance to the visitors.

During the first leg, both the goals came from set-pieces for Atletico Madrid. Chiellini rose above the rest in the defensive duties to nullify the likes of Alvaro Morata, Diego Godin, and Jose Maria Gimenez to take his side to the last eight.

Edited by Jong Ching Yee