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18.09.2019 » Atletico Madrid 2-2 Juventus. A point earned or two points lost?
Following their 2-leg clash last season in the competition's last-16 rounds, Atletico Madrid and Juventus met again, but this time they have locked horns in the opening round of the UEFA Champions League group stages. As usual, it was a very competitive and balanced game, with a lot of intensity and aggressiveness from both sides. Juventus managed to grab a 2-goal lead in the second half, but Atletico's fighting spirit came through near the end of the match and the Colchoneros battled like true warriors until they reached the equalizer, in the 90th minute of the game. Cristiano Ronaldo didn't have a very good game, but still, he almost scored what would have probably been the winning goal just moments before the final whistle... The two teams will face again each other on November 26.
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Atletico Madrid vs Juventus
Atletico Madrid 2-2 Juventus - Goals and highlights:
All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Atletico Madrid:
A goalless first half...
Juventus went into this game with very few changes in their lineup, when compared to the starting eleven that Sarri had chosen to play Fiorentina in the weekend. In fact, the only change that was made was in the attack, as Douglas Costa got replaced by Cuadrado, leaving, once again, Dybala on the bench. The Argentine has not had that many playing minutes since the beginning of the season, as the only game where he actually played was against Napoli on August 31 and he has only had 15 minutes on the pitch...
Sarri played with Szczesny in goal and a back four formed by Alex Sandro on the left, Danilo on the right, and De Ligt pairing with Bonucci in the centre. In midfield, Sami Khedira, Matuidi and Pjanic were tasked with the difficult job of battling against Atletico's midfielders, while in the attack, all hopes were on Cuadrado, Higuaín and of course, Cristiano Ronaldo.
The first 45 minutes were very tactical and both sides struggled to create clear-cut chances. Atletico looked more dominant in most periods of the first half and the visitors never looked like a threatening side. The goalless draw was the more obvious outcome from such a cautious game we were witnessing so far, even though we all knew a goal could suddenly lead to a very different game...
A 2-goal lead wasted...
The second half basically started with Juventus breaking the deadlock just 3 minutes after the break. A long pass from Bonucci deep inside Juventus' half found Gonzalo Higuaín with plento of space to run forward on the left and the Argentine then spotted Cuadrado free of marking on the opposite side. The Colombian winger didn't hesitate in cutting inside and aimed to the top right corner of Oblak's goal, leaving the Slovenian goalkeeper with absolutely no chance to stop his strike. 1-0 for the Italian champions...
With the goal disadvantage on the scoreboard, Atletico started taking a few more risks when moving forward and that eventually opened more gaps in their defense. Juventus were keen to capitalize on that and on the 65th minute they made the hosts pay again from a fast counter. Ronaldo also played a part in it as he left the ball to Alex Sandro on the left so the Brazilian could cross it and hope to find a teammate capable of finishing it. And that's precisely what happened, as Matuidi was in a perfect position to give the last touch and push the ball into the back of the net for the second time on the night.
With a 2-goal disadvantage against Juventus and only 20 minutes left on the clock, everything seemed lost to Atletico. However, the hosts weren't willing to let it go that easy and they kept pushing until they found a way to score at least a goal. And as expected, that goal came from a set-piece play... A long cross sent deep inside Juventus' box found Giménez jumping higher than everyone else around him and the centre-back then headed it back to Savic, who simply had to head the ball into an empty net.
Just one goal behind, the last minutes of the game were naturally going to be intense, as Atletico was going to give it all in seek of the equalizer. Juventus tried to hold on to their lead in every possible way, but a corner kick from the left allowed the former FC Porto midfielder and Mexico's captain Hector Herrera, to head the ball to the far post and beat Szczesny for the second time. It was somehow frustrating to see Juventus dropping such a good lead, but all in all, it wasn't a bad result...
Juventus line-up vs Atletico Madrid:
Goalkeeper: Szczesny
Defenders: Alex Sandro, De Ligt, Bonucci, Danilo
Midfielders: Khedira, Pjanic, Matuidi, Cuadrado
Attackers: Higuaín, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
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Atletico Madrid
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vs
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Juventus
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2 |
Goals |
2 |
19 |
Shots |
11 |
8 |
Shots on goal |
6 |
11 |
Corner kicks |
5 |
12 |
Fouls commited |
12 |
1 |
Yellow cards |
2 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
46% |
Ball possession |
54% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Juventus in the Serie A is against Hellas Verona. You can watch Juventus vs Hellas Verona, Atletico Madrid vs Celta de Vigo, Rennes vs Celtic, Manchester United vs Astana, Eintracht Frankfurt vs Arsenal, and Wolverhampton vs Braga, all matches provided from our streaming game pages.
Juventus next game:
Juventus vs Hellas Verona kick-off time (21-09-2019):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 03:00
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 02:00
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 00:30
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+2: 21:00
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 21:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 20:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 16:00
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 15:00
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 12:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / juventus.com / bbc.com / goal.com
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