On Wednesday, Juventus played the final chapter of what has to be the club’s most disappointing Champions League campaign in its glorious history.

The Bianconeri succumbed to their fifth defeat in six group stage outings, as Paris Saint-Germain emerged victorious at the Allianz Stadium, duplicating the same result from their earlier meeting in the French capital.

Nonetheless, Max Allegri’s men were consoled by two factors: An encouraging display and a third place spot that directs them towards the Europa League knockout stages.

Here are our takeaways from the Old Lady’s last Champions League fixture of the season.

Invaluable Lesson

While the final result definitely could have been better, the match against Lionel Messi and company served as an invaluable lesson for Juve’s young contingent.

For instance, Federico Gatti was yet to play in a top division prior to the end of last season, but on Wednesday he went face-to-face against some of the biggest stars in the world – including the GOAT himself.

The Italian defender will surely find himself on the wrong end of some online mockery as he desperately tried to cling on to Kylian Mbappe’s jersey prior to the opener.

However, his general performance was decent enough and he will only gain from this experience, and the same goes for Fabio Miretti, Nicolò Fagioli and the rest.

Relentless Cuadrado

This season, we may have been slightly harsh on Juan Cuadrado. Now surely his performances have plunged compared to the previous campaigns, but let’s not forget how the ongoing injury crisis has been forcing Allegri to rely on his services non-stop.

At the age of 34, La Vespa is no longer a spring chicken, and he deserves respect for delivering extra shifts in a physically demanding role.

Against PSG, the Colombian came out on top in his personal duel against Juan Bernat. But when Christophe Galtier introduced the terrifying Nuno Mendes in the middle of the second half, Cuadrado was always meant to lose a sprint against a fresh youngster 14 years his junior.

Thus, it would be unfair to blame the veteran wingback for PSG’s winner.

Heart of a Champion

When a footballer suffers a devastating ACL injury, the first question that poses itself is whether he’ll be able to return the same ever again. Some believe that the toughest aspect in the recovery is the mental one rather the physical.

So when Federico Chiesa made his long-anticipated return to a joyous roar from the crowds, all eyes were fixed on the Euro 2020 hero.

Fortunately, the Italian entered the pitch with a broad smile on the face and appeared exhilarated by the moment, even if he came up short in guiding his team towards an equalizer.

Now perhaps he displayed some expected rustiness, but Chiesa surely threw jitters out the window.

The winger willl impatiently try to regain his optimal physical and technical condition and pick from where he had left off during that unfortunate evening at the Stadio Olimpico.