Pogba and Buffon Inspire Juventus to Great Victory over City

This was not a must-win match, but topping the group always helps to get you slowly in your stride to make a push for ultimate glory. So Juventus, playing at home were looking to get the win and City, after getting their asses handed to them, also wanted to maintain their lead at the top of the group. So this was perfectly setup, and this match delivered and was great to watch.

After wasting my time watching Barcelona play around with Roma, it was refreshing and a treat to see two teams both go at it and entertain me with match that had chances, skill and was a nice battle. Ultimately, Man City showed how much they are missing David Silva whilst the key men for Juventus being their jewel, Pogba and their legend, Buffon, came up when it mattered to give Juventus that tight victory that I thought they would get, if the match was played to their liking.

Juventus have been showing with each performance I have seen of them in the Champions League that they should really be given that official dark horse title. While in Italy, they are slowly finding their feet but don't look convincing, in Europe they look like a formidable team with a clear game plan and are capable of competing with any team that they come up with. In this match what was important and what I had kept on urging was for Pogba to take control, play in the center and dominate. He did all three of these things mostly and was the key factor in what lead to the first goal.

In Paul, I see someone in the mould of Zidane. Let's be clear, there will never ever be another Zidane ever. He will remain one of the true greats of the game that don't come along often. But Pogba can be of that ilk, and can run a team in the way that Zidane did. The way in which he drove from midfield, kept his composure, and made the right pass to Alex Sandro who then crossed for Manzukic was great to see. That is what I want to see more of and I am hoping Allegri does not shove him down on the left wing again.

As for Buffon, he keeps on reminding us that once he hangs up his gloves, he will go down as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. When he was called upon to keep Juventus in the lead, he came through and showed what a captain must, doing his part to drive the team forward over the finishing line. And if Juventus are to make another trip to the final, Buffon will need to shoot up those old legs with some youth juice and make some vital saves to help them on their way. When he retires, it will be very weird and will take some time to get used to because it feels that he moved from Parma a millenia ago.


I'm not going to say Juventus will win the Champions League or are the favorites. But they fall into that second category below the usual suspects. They lost three key components, and I worried for how they would cope. But in Europe, the team is doing fine without them and finding their new identity with Pogba having to play a greater role, Dybala showing he can almost do what Tevez does and everyone else chipping in the way that this Juventus team has done which has lead to so much success. So just keep an eye out for this team, as they along with Atletico may be creeping around when nobody is looking.

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