It's deja-vu mixed with a nice healthy dose of groundhog day with Manchester City and the Champions League. Yet again, they lose their first match of the competition and after four appearances, they are yet to win their first game. For Juventus, it was an old-skool Italian masterclass in defending and shutting down the opposition. It was pretty much a men versus boys situation in terms of tactics, and Pellegrini was shown up by Allegri who needed this victory with the way things are going back home in Italy.
There I was, firmly believing City would win. After all, they have already been crowned champions of England by everyone, yet to concede a goal whereas Juventus only have a single point and have already lost two games. So based on that, I assumed City would be too much for Juventus, especially at the Etihad. Even though Juventus don't look the same as they were last year, I underestimated the tactical skill of Allegri. He actually prepared for this match, studied Man City and actually changed the way that Juventus normally play. Back in Italy, they are the team that everyone fears based on their success and so they are expected to be on the front foot as champions. That cannot be the case when in the Champions League. This is where the best teams play, and Allegri focused first on stopping City rather than going on a full attacking escapade. This resulted in City not finding any answers in breaking down their defense, which meant they were forced to play a much slower passing game which suited Juventus.
Some City fans have said the two-striker strategy has not worked for them in the past, but that was when they were up against the might of Bayern. This was a Juventus team who had yet to pick up a win in their league, and who have not looked as strong as they have with Tevez, Pirlo and Vidal. It was simply a case of going full-on, for at least the first fifteen minutes and try and get an early goal with a team that was struggling to get some themselves. Leaving Bony all by himself with no help around him was not too smart.
Must applaud Allegri and Juventus. It was a quality display. They defended very well, and they also were a threat when they came forward, and Pogba's goal would have been given if Morata was not involved in the first half. They did not dwell on that and pushed on even when a goal down and when you look at the two goals, it's very typical of Italian clubs.
Simple and precise execution.
Pogba's cross was sumptuous and Mandzukic only need to get an arm, leg or intestine onto that ball for it to go in. He did, and Juventus were back in the game out of nowhere. Then, to show the quality that Juve still have, it was their Champions League hero who saw the ball get loose and without thinking twice and second-guessing, he struck it with the clear intention of bending it away from Hart. You cannot get a better connection like that on the ball. It's one of those of as soon as you hit, you know there's a good chance that you'll get a G.
Hart is a damn good keeper, so to beat him from so far out shows that Morata is a very talented striker. What made it even better was the fact that Juventus still kept it old-skool with two strikers and both of them scored. This again proving that flooding a team with midfielders makes no difference. You saw Morata hustling back to tackle and Juventus did not get flooded in the midfield. I will always, for all time, prefer having two strikers over just the one who has to do battle with three defenders around him.
People always have the spotlight on the goalscorers but there were two titans on that pitch, and it came from the backline. Buffon and Chiellini were superb. Gianluigi again proving me wrong that he's too old and cranky to be seen on a professional pitch; this man produced a crucial save against Sterling that kept Juventus in the game early in the match. He's been doing this a lot recently and just goes to show that when someone is gifted, they tend to remind the doubters of their talents. As for Chiellini, Bony will be having nightmares, daymares, and afternoonmares of his face. The Italian Beast let nothing past, and was a rock. Apart from the unfortunate own goal, he showed why he has to be considered one of the best central defenders in the world. His shadowing of Bony, anticipation, timing of tackles are all the hallmarks of an elite football player.
It's now set up for Juventus to aim to top the group if they can best Sevilla, with Monchengladbach doing their utmost to lose as many games in a row as possible. For City, Pellegrini must change things up drastically. He needs to study his opponent a lot more closely and realize that the Champions League game is vastly different to the one back in England. They can still make it through, but just like last season, they are already playing catch up and have to take each game as it comes and win it.
HH
