I despised Sevilla after our first encounter earlier this season. Not just Sampaoli’s face and psuedo menacing posturing in the tightest shirt of his wardrobe, but their typically Spanish theatrics. And so, despite our patched up squad, missing two of our best defenders, two of our best attackers, I was desperate to see us put these swine to the sword…
The first half was fairly even. It would be fair to say the the home side showed more endeavour, but we were a threat on the break. When the goal came, it was thankfully down to no individual error, but a brilliant strike from Pareja, from just outside the box. Heads didn’t drop, at least not on the Juve side of the divide, yet Sevilla showed themselves as pigfuckers, as they demanded cards for every tackle they lost, hacked and wailed at every card or warning received and it came as no surprise to see Vazquez sent off for his second booking of the match with a pointless foul on Khedira, who was going nowhere.
We had conjured one decent chance through Mandzukic before deep into stoppage time, Bonucci invited the foul in the box from a corner. Clattenberg gave the penalty, which seemed fortuitous at first glance, but the replay showed this was a fine piece of officialdom at work.
Marchisio stepped up and struck a decent effort which squirmed under the keeper for 1-1.
With the home side down to ten men, Sampaoli warned for disputing every single decision ferociously, Allegri held fire, kept faith with the same starting XI. And why not eh? For at 1-1 we had control not only of qualification, but also first spot, for if it came down to head to head results from a draw on points, we would go through above the filthy spaniards, as they couldn’t manage a goal in the draw in Turin.
Sevilla huffed and puffed. Their eagerness to remonstrate with the officials grew worse, and Sampaoli was finally sent to the stands. Pjanic had a decent effort saved. We then grabbed control of the game, slow, pedestrian probing, which seemed to be too easily defended against.
Allegri brought on Sturaro to try add some muscle and hustle in midfield, yet it was later in the game, with barely five minutes of official time remaining that he threw on Kean. Who made an instant impact. The 16 year old forcing the defender to clear to Bonucci from a corner, and the big man upstaged Pareja with a superb left foot drive from 25 yards out for 1-2.
Chiellini was brought on for a brief cameo to help shore up the back line and consolidate the victory, and yet it was our lads who scored yet again, very late on, with Marchisio finding Mandzukic in space, who dropped a shoulder, and placed a perfect pea roller into the corner for 1-3. Composed and clinical.
Player Ratings
Buffon – Could do nothing for the goal, other than which was largely untested. 6.5
Rugani – After his injury bothers he has recently represented his country magnificently in the draw with the Germans, then continued his return to form with a mature performance in this important tie. Passed well, tackled and covered fine and brought the ball out of defence intelligently. 7
Bonucci – A rock at the back, won the penalty and scored the winner. Big Leo has been exceptional for a while now, world class on occasion, yet this was the perfect performance of experience, guile and indomitable spirit. I know of no other centreback in the world game who is his equal. 10
Evra – Made up for his lack of youthful exuberance with a calm and composed showing. Far from wonderful with his distribution but to his credit he is playing different roles each game, and producing solid performance week in, week out. 6.5
Alves – Disciplined in his positional endeavour, allowing Cuadrado to take up positions the Brazilian naturally seeks, and kept his eye on the ball and players to defend soundly. 6.5
Khedira – Came close with a smart drive hit first time in the first half, then faded dreadfully in the second. 6
Marchisio – Leggy, as to be expected after such a long injury lay off yet stuck to his game, played some beautiful passes, screened the defence and scored the all important equaliser. His movement was laboured, and his distribution often telegraphed, but he brings so much more to the regista role than any other in the squad and I am so very glad to have him back in the ranks. And know he and the side in turn, will only improve as he regains his sharpness. 7
Pjanic – Other than the one decent drive towards goal, the Bosnian was largely uninvolved. We are yet to work out how to get the best out of him, but its the system not the player which is failing. He stood up to be counted when it mattered. 6.5
Cuadrado – Far from his finest or worst performance, Juan toiled and showed impressive discipline, yet found no major openings as he was very well contained by the home side rearguard action. 6.5
Sandro – Asked to play as a wide forward, Alex struggled to impose himself on the game. He was up against always two defenders, and worked damn hard to his credit, yet he is clearly more potent when deployed from deeper. 6.5
Mandzukic – His form of late has been improving, and such is the determination of the giant Croat that he was ready to plunder the third deep into stoppage time, taking his goal intelligently. Offered no support up top for most the game, he gave his all for the cause, and I am rekindling my love for his value. 8
SUBS
Sturaro – Still finding his feet. A few misplaced passes, little offered going forward, yet as always, Stefano gave in the least, a contribution of immense determination and hustle. Major room for improvement. 5.5
Kean – So little time, yet he made a major impact in forcing the defender to clear the ball from Alves to Bonucci, who scored a blinder. 6.5
Chiellini – N/A
Sevilla are the most solid team we have faced this season. As their record domestically as well as in Europe confirms. They are extremely well drilled, very hard to break down through open play and lively up top. However, they are also appallingly absent of sportsmanship, constantly faking injury and suffer from a warped sense of entitlement. They represent everything I hate about Spanish football. The diving, the theatrics, the demanding of the ref to award yellow cards. Which comes from the manager, who even after finding himself sent to the stands still basically said FUCK YOU to the officials by continuing to communicate directly face to face with his assistant on the bench. I hope he is punished, as per the rules. For he was atrocious from start to finish in both games. Absolutely classless. We need to see such antics crushed in football. The sooner, the better.
Perhaps we were lucky to have Clattenberg, the major superstar ref of the premier league, a man who is well aware of his power and adores the occasion of soaking up the limelight, knowing he has the final say.
Not so welcome were two yellows received for nothing challenges to those of our own ranks and the weird decision to avoid sending off Mercado yet awarding the penalty for his obvious foul in the box.
We did not play well. Which was to be expected with the absences, a new formation, a LWB playing up top, and Marchisio still finding his rhythm after so long spent recovering from his ACL horrors. What we did show however, was grit, belief, togetherness and calmness. All of which comes from the manager and the experienced members of the squad. This is why Marchisio played, when nowhere near match sharp, for it was not his form we needed, but his experience, intelligence and maturity. Which counts for so much in a volatile fixture such as this one, especially when playing away from home.
Some could moan of Allegri’s moves from the bench, but consider that the sole attacking move we could make was to bring on a 16 year old, who has played a handful of minutes last weekend at senior level in Serie A and was to make his european debut at the same level in a cauldron atmosphere. I salute Allegri for his work. Outstanding, given the options available.
Bear in mind that Sevilla had lost just one game at home in La Liga and not conceded in the champions league before last night. With a side missing 4 key players, we beat them 1-3. Deservedly.
Which continues this uncomfortable grasping towards the old adage of great teams winning when playing badly, which sums up our season to date. The proof of the pudding will come when we have a full squad to choose from, and hope to find some momentum, and an upturn in cohesion and form. Despite which, Allegri has us top of Serie A by 7 points and already qualified for the knock-out stages of the champions league. Which has been achieved with a wretched injury crisis and the steady absence of one or more of our strongest players.
There are many more reasons to be cheerful, proud and hopeful of glory than despondent.
forza juve
(NB, the U19s won a handsome 0-2 victory away to Sevilla, goals from Clemenza and Zeqiri, leaving us placed brilliantly top of the group. I believe even a draw at home to Zagreb in the final fixture will see Grosso’s young guns progress to the knockout stage!)
Juve was good enough for the win as its always a tough match with one of these annoying spanish teams.
Pjanic needs to improve and there was too much Cuadrado. I dont like him one bit.
Marchsio is solid.
Our mid field needs work. Get Witsel in January.
I thought Juan was okay. As long as he defends I don’t care so much when he ends moves by overplaying and poor decision making.
As for Pjanic…a 4-2-3-1 is where we will find him vastly improved. Perhaps next to Marchisio in the 2.
And yes…Witsel ticks so many boxes for me, for he can play, reads the game damn well, is very physical and loves to tackle.
It was a penalty, and as you say GP Clattenburg is a star ref – but also a very fine and fair one. Hence his overseeing major finals.
I too hate the theatre of persecution and victim status as played out by teams under the influence of the manager of course (Mourinho is the world’s best at this tactic), so it is good to see it not succeed.
It is times and games like this that all those hating on Max are put to shame, for he is a winner with a calm logical football brain. I don’t see many better managers in the world right now that could do a better job.
Well done to him and the players for getting this great and unexpected result.
Allegri won me over the moment we reached the CL final. Can’t doubt a coach who accomplishes that.
I love how calm he was throughout this game, not paying attention to Sampaoli for one bit. Many coaches would go along with that.
Indeed, yet it doesn’t help when the apparent ‘experts’ in the press such as the bewitching (aesthetically) Mina Rzouki criticise the boss, call the victory undeserved and fail to analyse the game properly. Allegri had a game plan, stuck to it, and it worked. We were edgy for the first 15 minutes, but after that the game was fairly even and on the balance of chances, we were the better side. Contrast that with Sevilla who were blistering for the opening 20 minutes, yet when their approach began to fail, they blamed everyone but themselves and lost their heads.
ALlegri performed fine by my own eyes. Of the Sevilla side I was very impressed with Nzonzi. A midfield enforcer with decent talent on the ball. Precisely what we have been missing in our side this year.
Pjanic is a tricky one, and here I agree with Mina, to some degree in that he is a player who thrives on picking out intelligent runners, playing creatively, yet we deploy him with barely anyone ahead of him in space, so he is forced to play sideways or backwards. Ideally he will play deep – as he did at Roma – with plenty of players always ahead of him and a midfield enforcer nearby to do the dirty work and give a very physical presence ad reference point. A minder, if you will…Until we deploy him behind the offensive unit, we will not reap the potential rewards of his signing.
I still feel more critical about this game comrade. Counting in all factors, it is a very good result of course, but I have this nagging feeling that poor Clattenburg had a hand in our turnaround.
Sevilla played extremely physical, so cards and penalties are just around the corner for them, but to see both a red card and a penalty, it did not feel like the win was due to our own merit. Even when reduced to 10, I think Sevilla played the better game. It did not look like they were a man down in my eyes.
Agreed on the theatric diving and howling for cards – it is extremely annoying to watch and seems to be a typical thing among La Liga teams. (though our own Lichtsteiner, Cuadrado and Dani Alves aren’t exactly shy of that either!)
I remain satisfied with the result and all in all with the performance (seeing as we had key players absent and we played in Sevilla’s backyard, which is truly much like a fortress) but I felt outplayed.
Perhaps not deservedly so, but it is what it is!
Poor? Not by my reckoning my friend…definite penalty, missed maybe one tug on a shirt by Chiellini late on in the box, and big Leo’s elbow in the back, other than which, he could have sent off the defender…mercado?…who fouled Leo for the penalty as he already had a yellow. I thought he had a great game. Was correct in all the big decisions.
Sevilla, as you say, play dirty and physical. This was never going to go down well with a ref accustomed to running the game. And yes yes! Juan, Lichsteiner and Alves are similar, but a tiny portion of the squad, the rest of whom ride challenges, rarely moan and wail, unless they are dying. Which is in line with lo stile juve.
Dani has lessened his nuisance value of late…
It was a stunning result from a makeshift team. A draw may have been fair on the balance of play but we did make more decent chances than the spaniards!
Oh I didn’t mean poor as in poor refereeing mate – i meant poor guy had to be escorted with an armed brigade out of the stadion! I don’t think he did a bad job, but I do feel we got lucky with his decisions. Not many refs would have dared to give Sevilla a red card and a penalty against in the space of 10 mins or so..
Yes they were correct calls, but harshly given perhaps? Second yellow and a penalty for shirt tugging, I mean, worse things have gone unpunished.
I don’t know why I continue to feel as if we lucked out on this game. But Clattenburg has got to do with it I guess!
We won and that is all we could want from this game, we still have good prospects on the future and we still only lost twice in the season. Not a bad start at all indeed.
(And beating Spanish teams is always nice)
I had written on fuckbook…yes yes! i get what you meant regarding Clattenberg, and agree we were a little fortunate.
yet in the same breath…we were playing without 4 key players, our finest attack, two of our finest defenders, a marchisio still finding his form…and I could see us either drawing or losing 1-0 at worst
teams can be as dominant and as pressing as they like, but its very rare indeed, even this season, to find an opponent creating more chances than ourselves.
If we can avoid atletico and Barca before the final, we have a decent chance of winning the tournament, and who can say…perhaps by feb/march, we will be in imperious form.
So I went back and rewatched this game with fresh eyes last night. I have seen so many negative opinions floating online regarding our and clattenburg’s performance, i wanted to make sure i wasn’t being hasty before i defended either of them. I have to say i believe clattenburg did fine. Vazquez had 3-4 fouls to his name and a warning (as well as many to his teammates) BEFORE the first yellow. And there should be no debate about the second yellow; as TGP said khedira was just turning on the ball and going nowhere when he got hacked down pointlessly. The penalty kick was fair as well, and we got our fair share of fouls and yellow cards, with the only missed call against us i could find being the bonucci elbow that TGP so admired.
On to what bothers me the most: juventini are overwhelmingly unhappy with a performance that i thought was rock solid from beginning to end. Sevilla rarely (maybe once or twice) came into our final third in numbers and mostly depended on dribbling on the wing against several defenders, which can be nerve-wrecking on a live transmission but in retrospect took them nowhere. Juventus came into the second half incredibly composed, circling the ball around with little intent other than tiring out the opposition. We didn’t fail or even falter offensively, our distribution of the ball was well above what we have been used to this season, and after 30 or so minutes of this we started to run harder and hit them harder, earned a couple of yellows, put in fresh legs, and effectively finished them off in the space of 10 minutes. It all seems so deliberate on the second viewing. There is no desperation, no wild crosses or shooting, just calm game management.
Anyways, it might just be me, but i rate juve’s second half as the best of the two and give allegri a 9/10 at least for what he accomplished. Fascinating game to watch (and re-watch). I understand the frustration at not pushing for 2-1 as soon as we were playing against 10 men, but we did a damn good job at making sevilla lose their energies and their minds before going for the kill. They played dirty and got what they deserved, and i am proud of our own for keeping their composure throughout. Forza
I just see your reply now but I lack the time to properly read it – so I will answer kn due time!
Just on a quick glance, I hope I made it clear that most of what I said is a gut feeling, my ration contradicts what I feel about the game.
Catch you tomorrow or something!
Very well put, RAC. And I completely agree. It was a very professional, calm, composed and immensely steady performance at one of the hardest grounds in Europe to glean a reward…
And your first perfect rating for someone! Another Juve milestone!
Hurrah!
It is encouraging to see us play very average, yet deserve a victory against a very tough opponent. The spirit is there, and this counts for so much.
Maintain our lead in Serie A, pick up the Supercoppa, get everyone fit, and come March we may have not just a side which plays average and wins, but a side which wins and plays good football. Considering we have not yet been able to deploy our finest – on paper – starting XI, we remain in a commendable position domestically and in Europe.
It was not just his guile, strength and maturity nor the fact that he misplaced just one pass in the whole game…but what pushed me to give him the 10, was a brilliant elbow in the back of a player Clattenberg had grown tired of seeing roll around in feigned agony, and so the boy cried wolf…hohoho! Great to see, with Big Leo, barely even needing to protest his innocence.
I suspect Allegri had studied Clattenberg, and made clear to our players to leave him be, don’t fuck with his ego, else we will come off second best. Other than his mega ego, he is a top drawer referee.
NB. the U19s ARE through the knock-out stage for the first time in our history (tournament began in 13/14 season)…regardless of even losing at home in the final game. Great work from Grosso and the young guns, especially after a sticky period in the league.