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| Edited By: Soham Mukherjee |Source: |Updated: May 06, 2017, 01:47 AM IST
Massimiliano Allegri have once again proved that football continues to be a very simple game and the more direct you defend and attack, the easier it will be to choke your opponents.This Juventus team plies their trade with a trenchant defensive and attacking clarity with a fondness to transform their shape at will to churn out either a perfect attacking outlet or consolidate when they have lost the ball. Nicolas Pareja, of Sevilla was the last man to score past Gianluigi Buffon on November 22 on the ninth minute of the match and after 621 minutes of European football, Juventus have not conceded.
Out of the 621 minutes, 180 of them were against the most feared trident of world football right now 'MSN', and 90 against an attack who have scored 146 goals among them since November 26, 2015.
Monaco was not just shut down; if we consider how many half chances should have gone in, the number cannot be more than one. Buffon was again the saviour with a finger tip save, of a header of Valerie Germain from six yards, which will trigger your memory to that save of a Zinedine Zidane header in the World Cup final, 2006.
The match was pitted to be one between Juve's all-weather defense and Monaco's frenetic attacking line-up with youthful jubilance. Monaco started the game with intention and purpose, weaving attack after attack but Juve's defense remained as calm as a hermit weathering the early storm and patiently waiting at the back to spit venom on the counter. Allegri, went for a back three with Dani Alves and Alex Sandro operating as wide wing backs which only spelt doom for an out of position right back Nabil Dirar, but also for Sidibe who felt continuously out of position against Alves who was nothing short of brilliant throughout the entire game. Monaco broke fast, but Juve's six man mid-field smothered every forward ball sent for the likes of Mbappe and Falcao. The transition between mid-field to attack was stifled in the womb and Alejandro Jardim's men never found the space behind the high back-line of Juve.
But the young side still managed to test Buffon in the first twenty-five minutes, Mbappe's header lacked the power and placement to stretch Juve's grand custodian. Dirar had to bypass Juve's defense and take the aerial route before releasing a ball for Mbappe from the right hand side. Mbappe's blistering pace left Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini standing behind and once again Buffon had to intervene to send the ball away for a corner when Mbappe met another cross from Dirar and directed a shot at the near post. It is worth noting that all of Monaco's fruitful attacks were either from floaters from the wide areas or from long balls as they could not break Juve's defense from the middle.
Mbappe was at the thick of action in the first half and even after Higuain's opener he showed a clean pair of heels to a trailing Bonucci and Barzagli and delivering a perfect cross into the box. But as Juve began to take control of midfield with their patient passing of the ball, the young Frenchman cut a frustrated and isolated figure. This match must be a huge learning experience for him. When the supply lines dry up, the onus must be on him to operate from a further deeper position and reach for the balls when he has the pace and agility to beat Juve's ageing back-line.
His manager should have instructed him to play deeper but Jardim's tactics had completely gone haywire when Juve decided to come up with a six-man midfield in a 3-4-2-1 formation. Mario Madzukic has sacrificed his favourite position at the top and continuously helped Dani Alves at the right side tracking up and down the flanks. In this match any coach would go for a player with superior technical abilities rather than with physical prowess.
But Jardim thought otherwise and Tiemoue Bakayoko made it to the starting XI with Joao Moutinho rotting in the bench. It took him 66 minutes that Bakayoko is a misfit and introduced Moutinho replacing him. Suddenly, Monaco looked a different side with more sense and attacking purpose as the Portuguese has the tricks up his sleeve to unlock even a grizzled, resolute Juve defense.
Barcelona must be cursing themselves for letting Alves go on a free-transfer after his performance in the quarter-finals against them and definitely after his two assists against Monaco. He has been the live-wire in Juve's attacking moves and more importantly, at 33 he still has the pace and judgement to run past defenders and release the ball at the perfect time. Juve's first goal is a leaf taken out of Monaco's book. A scorching counter attack following a waist high flick from Dybala, which releases Dani Alves. The Brazilian dances down with devastating speed and cuts back with a sublime back heel to an advancing Higuain who slots it past the keeper. Juve was not entitled to score this type of goal.
It is something that Monaco does day in and day out. The second goal also was a result of Juve's knack to make Monaco pay for a defensive lapse when Bakayoko lost possession in his own half which triggered Dybala to pounce on a loose ball and again feed Alves on the right who chipped in a near perfect ball at the feet of Higuain who gave his marker the slip and managed to slip behind his back before guiding it past between the legs of Subasic. So, in a nut shell Juve does not only boast of a water-tight back-line, players like Dybala and Alves lend the much needed fluidity to convert a counter attack into a scoring opportunity. Where on the other end of the turf, Buffon has pulled out three magisterial saves to deny Mbappe and Falcao, Subasic let in two goals, one of them from a tight angle which he should've stopped.
Higuain scored the 31st goal of the season whereas, he had scored only twice in his last 29 Champions League knockout appearances. Strictly judging it was an average performance from the striker in spite of piercing the net twice. His 13th minute failure to meet the cross of Dani Alves, just because he lost his footing at the decisive moment is an unpardonable offence in a match of this stature and magnitude. Just before he scored the opener he failed to test Subasic within three yards and his shot went in front of the face of the goal, before being cleared off at the second post. These are criminal wastage of chances and although he made amends with two goals later in the match, misses of this kind at Cardiff will prove costly for the Bianconeri.
Football romantics stand divided, when it comes to deciding who should get through after the double legged tie? While one set of them are rooting for Monaco, being fascinated by their style and game play; another group pre-dominantly consisting of hardliners want Juventus to progress and even lift the big-eared trophy. Monaco has that quality teamed up with flair and heart to cause an upset at the Juventus stadium next week, but the Old Lady would be looking to snuff out any magic potion to write a fairy tale as her favourite child, Gianluigi Buffon is in his final lap of an illustrious career.
