Juventus 1-0 Man City

Scorers: Mandzukic 18 (J)

Champions League Game 5 –  Wednesday, 25th November – 19:45 GMT – Juventus Stadium

Juventus are through to the last 16 of the Champions League following a resolute 1-0 victory over Manchester City.

Full match report to follow….

 5 Positives:

1. Don’t call my name, don’t call my name….  Alex Sandro. I’m not your….ah, you get the point. Another strong performance from the left-back who is really getting to grips with his role in this Juve team. Pushed forward and pegged back Sagna and his lin-up play with Pogba was beautiful to watch. His third assist in a row shows just why he needs to be starting more often.

2. Stefano Sturaro – Bossed and bullied that midfield and did a damn-fine impersonation of a certain Arturo Vidal. Robbed and recycled the ball, had a half chance to score a second for Juve. a very mature performance.

3. Another win – Granted, the victories preceding this one may not have been particularly pretty, but they were done with a degree of determination that seemed to be missing from earlier performances. The confidence is growing and the momentum is building. Only 1 defeat in 11 games is pretty damn good considering some were calling for Allegri to be sacked as little as two weeks ago.

4. A clean sheet – We’ve managed to keep 7 clean sheets so far this season – Not especially good when you consider how strong our defence was these past 4 seasons but this was our second in a row and a sign that the things are starting to come together.

5. Allegri – There were plenty of questions about the choice of formation, the inclusion of Mandzukic over Morata….but it worked, and it worked well. The team looked balanced across the pitch and when substitutions were made in the form of Morata and Cuadrado, they continued to cause City problems. bravo Max!

 Statistics:

Man of the Match: Alex Sandro/Stefano Sturaro

  Flop of the Match: N/A

  Corners: 2

  Pass Accuracy: 79%

  Shots on Target: 5

  Total Shots: 13

  Ball Possession: 41%

  Formation:  3-5-2

 Formation:

Lineups:

Juventus: Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Sturaro, Marchisio, Pogba, Alex Sandro (Evra 78); Mandzukic (Morata 55), Dybala (Cuadrado 81)

Manchester City: Hart (Caballero 81); Sagna, Demichelis, Otamendi, Clichy; Fernando, Fernandinho (Delph 60); Navas, Toure, De Bruyne; Aguero (Sterling 69)

Ref: Brych (GER)

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