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06.11.2019 » Lokomotiv 1-2 Juventus. Safe passage to the knockout rounds!
Juventus are the first team to qualify to the UEFA Champions League last-16 stage, after travelling to Russia and beating Lokomotiv Moscow by 2-1. The Italian giants may have not secured the first place in the group just yet, but with 10 points earned so far and with both Lokomotiv and Bayer Leverkusen tied in 3rd place with only 3 points, the ticket to the next round of the competition is already secured. Prior to tonight's game, most betting sites for UK players were suggesting Juve were the heavy favorites, which turned out to be true. However, the Bianconeri weren't handed an easy game and the victory was only achieved in the dying minutes of the second half, following a spectacular goal from Douglas Costa. The opener had already been scored very early in the game, when Aaron Ramsey tapped in a rebound from a Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick...
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Lokomotiv vs Juventus
Lokomotiv 1-2 Juventus - Goals and highlights:
All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Lokomotiv:
EAsy maths for Juventus
That maths for Juventus were quite easy ahead of tonight's clash. If they managed to beat Lokomotiv Moscow, they would immediatelly secure their ticket to Champions League knockout rounds. Any other result other than a win, would simply delay the celebrations for at least another matchweek. With that in mind, the Italian champions didn't lose any time and showed the visitors what were their intents with less than 3 minutes played in the game...
Nevertheless, Maurizzio Sarri made a few rotations in his team prior to this Wednesday's encounter, some of them forced and others by option. In defense, Rugani played next to Bonucci, as Matthijs de Ligt was left out of the squad due to an ankle injury suffered in the match against Torino. In midfield, Sarri left Matuidi resting and played Khedira, Pjanic, Rabiot and Ramsey, but the Frenchman was definitely missed. Upfront, the Vecchia Signora also missed Dybala's creativity, as the Argentine got benched and Cristiano Ronaldo had to partner up with Gonzalo Higuaín.
The previous game between Juventus and Lokomotiv, played just 2 weeks ago in Turin, had already forced the Italians to extra efforts in order to collect the precious 3 points. This time, it was obviously a different stage, but the difficulties were still the same, if not bigger...
Douglas Costa shocked the Russians
The first goal of the night arrived in the 3rd minute of the first half, when a powerful free-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo forced Lokomotiv's goalkeeper, Guilherme Marinato, to make a mistake when blocking the shot and let the ball slide between his legs. Aaron Ramsey rushed to the ball and confirmed what was already inevitable, scoring the first Bianconeri goal on the night.
But as usual, grabbing the early lead didn't exactly play in Juventus' favor, as the Italian powerhouse ended up playing with a very low intensity and allowed their opponents to eventually get back in the game. It took the hosts less than 10 minutes to respond, as a cross from Maciej Rybus in the 12th minute of the first half, met Aleksey Miranchuk unmarked inside the box and the Russian would level the game scoring off his own rebound.
With the 1-1 on the scoreboard, both teams battled a lot in the remaining time of the game, but as the final whistle approached, it didn't look like any of these sides was going to be capable of scoring the winner. Even Ronaldo was subbed off in the 82nd minute, which is quite unusual for him. Everything would change shortly after though, when Douglas Costa decided to step up... The Brazilian winger combined with Gonzalo Higuaín to produce a truly brilliant play in the 93rd minute and finished it off with a subtle touch that sent the ball right between Lokomotiv goalkeeper's legs. The goal gave Juventus the 2-1 victory and sent the Italians through to Champions League last-16 stage.
Juventus line-up vs Lokomotiv:
Goalkeeper: Szczesny
Defenders: Alex Sandro, Bonucci, Rugani, Danilo
Midfielders: Pjanic, Khedira, Rabiot, Ramsey
Attackers: Higuaín, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
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|---|---|---|
Lokomotiv
|
vs
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Juventus
|
1 |
Goals |
2 |
18 |
Shots |
17 |
6 |
Shots on goal |
9 |
5 |
Corner kicks |
7 |
15 |
Fouls commited |
7 |
1 |
Yellow cards |
2 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
31% |
Ball possession |
69% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Juventus in the Serie A is on November 10, against AC Milan. You can watch Juventus vs AC Milan, Standard Liege vs Eintracht Frankfurt, Wolverhampton vs Slovan Bratislava, Manchester United vs Partizan, Lazio vs Celtic, and Borussia Monchengladbach vs AS Roma, all matches provided from our live soccer game pages.
Juventus next game:
Juventus vs AC Milan kick-off time (10-11-2019):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 03:45
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 02:45
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 01:15
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+1: 20:45
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 20:45
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 19:45
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 16:45
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 15:45
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 12:45
Sources: ronaldo7.net / juventus.com / tvnz.co.nz / cnn.com
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