MOST RECENT RESULT :
SPAL 2 - 1 JUVENTUS
AJAX 6 - 1 EXCELSIOR
Currently Juventus are ahead on the away goal rule after drawing the first leg 1-1 in Amsterdam, however like the scoreline suggests this is a tie that is very much in the balance. Juventus go into this match on the back of a 2 - 1 defeat against SPAL, though that result shouldn't be used as a gauge for what could happen tonight, as Allegri heavily rotated the squad & gave 4 youth team players some minutes on the pitch. Ajax were yet again scoring for fun in a one sided 6 - 1 victory over Excelsior, unlike Juventus Erik ten Hag chose not to rest several first team players and could pay the price for that decision, as De Jong limped off injured during the first half. As of writing whether or not De Jong will play is uncertain, "De Jong is still in doubt," Erik ten Hag . "The fact that he is not training yet is not decisive in terms of whether he will play. We don't test it that way." One player that Ajax will definitely be without is Nicolas Tagliafico, who misses out due to suspension.
MISSING IN ACTION :
Juventus will once again be without Giorgio Chiellini who has yet to recover from an injury setback, also missing in action will be Mario Mandzukic, though it could be said that the Croatian went M.I.A during the first leg anyway. Danielle Rugani is likely to step in for Chiellini once more, and if he puts in a similar performance to the one in Amsterdam then fans needent panic too much. Unlike the straight forward answer to who will replace Chiellini, its a different story when it comes to who starts in place of Mandzukic, and that's not a bad thing. Mandzukic has yet to score in 2019 and as shown during the first leg meeting this isnt the type of game for him anyway. Mandzukic has his attributes, mainly a physical prescence & high work rate but neither are invaluable assets against Ajax. When it comes to who starts in Mandzukic's position its a case of 'take your pick' from a selection of Paulo Dybala, Douglas Costa & Moise Kean. All have their star qualities but based on form alone you would surely go with Moise Kean? Who despite only being 19 years old, he has scored 4 goals in 5 of Juventus most recent fixtures and is showing no signs of stopping any time soon. Douglas Costa is also another contender to start, bringing pace & creativity into the team, though he will likely start from the substitute bench as Allegri said that the Brazilian is not in "perfect condition right now". Out of the three Paulo Dybala is the wild card, 2018/2019 hasn't been the greatest season for La Joya but his ability & talent cant be denied. Dybala has delivered on the big Champions League nights in the past against Tottenham & Barcelona, could he add Ajax to that list?
PAULO DYBALA : TIME TO SHINE?
Its been a long time since Dybala has impressed in a Juventus shirt this season, yet tonight the number ten could finally force his way into the spotlight and shine. Form wise Dybala hasn't been great, far from it, but with Mandzukic injured & Douglas Costa not in 100% condition it becomes a 1 on 1 duel between Dybala & Moise Kean for a place in the starting 11. Allegri rarely starts Moise Kean despite his goal scoring form, preferring to slowly ease Kean into the team (sound familiar Paulo?) and given the importance of tonights game you would expect Kean to start as a substitute. This means that Dybala would not only be handed a rare start, but also the added responsibility of the captains armband, as confirmed by Allegri "If Dybala plays then he will wear the captain's armband, otherwise it will be Bonucci." No pressure Paulo.
GAME MANAGEMENT :
In the first leg Allegri showed Ajax plenty of respect with the way that Juventus approached the game, conceding possession & generally sitting back until a counter attack presented itself. This approach is all fine & well for an away leg against an attacking side such as Ajax, but now that Juventus have home advantage the Bianconeri would be wise not to repeat the same tactic tonight. Simply put, Ajax are the ones that must score to give themselves any chance of winning the tie, but that doesn't mean that Juventus should go into this match solely to defend. Concede possession & allow the Dutch to flood men forward like they did in Amsterdam, and Juventus may well regret it.
WHAT TO EXPECT :
As said before, Ajax will travel to Turin with every intention of attacking Juventus and drawing the first leg 1-1 will only encourage them even more to do so. Restricting Ajax to long range efforts would be Juventus best bet of keeping goals conceded to a minimum, whilst Ajax created many goal scoring opportunities in the previous meeting most were from outside of the 18-yard box, and for the most part possessed little threat. When attacking, Ajax leave themselves vulnerable to a counter attack, as seen for both Bernardesci & Douglas Costa goal scoring chances. If Juventus can exploit this once more they may well find themselves one step away from another Champions League final. Expect this one to be full of drama & edge of your seat moments, after all, in this moment it is the biggest game of the season for Juventus.
In my preview of the game I highlighted the amount of goal scoring opportunities that Ajax created against Real Madrid during their first leg meeting in Amsterdam, and last night it was a case of 'more of the same' from the Dutch outfit. Always threatening when coming forward, Ajax ended the 90 minutes with 19 efforts on goal, yet could only hit the target on 6 occasions. Juventus on the other hand ended the 90 minutes with 7 shots on goal (6 coming during the first half alone) with 2 hitting the target, so guess what the result was? That's right. . .
AJAX 1-1 JUVENTUS
Ajax made their intentions clear very early on, attack & press the life out of their opponents. However Ajax never really took full advantage of the chances that they were creating, a strike from Ziyech forcing Szczesny into action to prevent the opening goal, with Donny van de Beek also going close from 13 yards. Despite playing the better football of the two sides Ajax would be the one's that found themselves going into the half time break a goal down. Ronaldo marking his return from injury in trademark fashion with an all important goal in the champions league, it was a goal created in Portugal, Cancelo darting towards the Ajax penalty box before delicately chipping the ball towards a sprinting Ronaldo who dived to head the ball beyond Onana and into the Ajax goal for 1-0.
As soon as the second half kicked off all the feel good factor from Ronaldo's goal quickly vanished in the space of 30 seconds, as David Neres capitalised on a mistake by Joao Cancelo & racing towards a waiting Szczesny who could do little to prevent Neres from scoring. Joao Cancelo, from hero to zero. From then on wards it was pretty much one way traffic for Ajax who went on to register 13 attempts on goal in the second half alone. However there was one bright spot for Juventus, Douglas Costa replaced Mandzukic as a second half substitute and it was a move that almost paid off, As the Brazilian left Joel Veltman for dead with a brilliant piece of skill before rattling the post with a powerful strike. So what did we learn from this result? More importantly, what did Juventus learn?
WASTEFUL AJAX :
For large periods of the game Ajax were the better side, pressing & harassing Juventus with their attacking play, however, Ajax's attacks were largely ineffective. Despite enjoying the luxury of 19 efforts on goal over the 90 minutes, only 6 managed to hit the target. Why did Ajax find it so difficult to hit the target? Simple, 11 of Ajax's efforts on goal came from outside the box, Ziyech alone contributing 6 of those long range efforts (one that required a fine save from Szczesny to prevent the goal). Donny van de Beek however did not have the excuse of miss firing from long range, his effort narrowly missing the target despite being inside of Juventus penalty box. In writing the amount of chances Ajax created looks incredibly scary, but when seen in action? Wasteful. Will it cost Ajax in the long run? Time will tell.
JUVE APPREHENSION :
It was clear from the offset that Allegri was taking little chances with his tactics. Knowing full well what type of team Juve were up against, Allegri's side sat back & absorbed pressure from Ajax throughout the night, perhaps due to fear? At times Juventus players wanted more time on the ball but really should have known better, as Ajax were having none of it & snatched possession away from their opponents with a ferocious press. What Juventus could have, and perhaps should have done, was attack their opponents on the counter more often than they did. Juventus did have success on the counter attack when put into action, case in point when Bentancur sprung on a loose pass to begin the counter and find Bernardeschi in space, despite being inside of the Ajax penalty box and in a promising position to score, the Italian failed to pull the trigger & ultimately lost possession. Juventus must do better in the second leg, allowing Ajax to dictate the tempo & flow of the game once again could prove a costly mistake.
RUGANI :
Special praise for Rugani is necessary, called into action once Chiellini was ruled out due to injury. The spotlight was on Rugani to put in a solid performance, and he did just that, registering the most amount of clearances for his side and dealing with Ajax pressure very competently. Put in more performances like this and not only will it build up his own confidence, but the fans confidence in his abilities also.
RONALDO FACTOR :
Well, what can you say that hasn't already been said to describe Ronaldo? He is simply a difference maker, and once again he was the difference between Juventus going into the half time break with either their heads down or with a 1-0 lead. There is a feeling that with Ronaldo in your team that all you need is to create one clear cut chance, and the number 7 will hit the back of the net. Team mates have spoken about it over the season, from Giorgio Chiellini "Before, the Champions League was a dream. Now it is a target because Cristiano is the best player in the world and we need him to make the last step.", to Allegri in his post match comments after the Ajax game, "Ronaldo proved once again he is a player of a different level. His timing and movement is different to everyone else." Contrasting the volume of shots on goal that Ajax created throughout the night, Ronaldo could only muster 2, with one resulting in a Juventus goal. Many times Ronaldo has been the difference between victory & elimination for his teams in this competition (as Juventus fans know all too well), when Ronaldo is at his clinical best all that he needs is one clear cut opportunity to score, last night was no different. In the return leg Ronaldo will be hoping that he is presented with more chances to get his name on the score sheet, judging by the way that Ajax approached the game last night, Juventus are going to need their star signing to once again be the lethal finisher that he is known for.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS:
EUROPA LEAGUE ROUND OF 32 : AJAX 1-2 JUVENTUS (18.02.2010)
EUROPA LEAGUE ROUND OF 32 : JUVENTUS 0-0 AJAX (25.02.2010)
FORM, PREVIOUS 5 RESULTS :
AJAX : 4 WINS, 0 DRAW, 1 DEFEAT
JUVENTUS : 4 WINS, 0 DRAW, 1 DEFEAT
MOST RECENT RESULT :
JUVENTUS 2-1 MILAN
WILLEM II 1-4 AJAX
So, Juventus have arrived at the quarter final stage of the UEFA Champions League, drawn against the surprise package of the tournament and a repeat of the 1996 Champions League final, Ajax. Unlike the old lady's opponent in the previous round Ajax are not the physical, in your face defensive unit that Atletico Madrid are, instead they are pretty much the opposite with their slick passing and defence splitting attacks. To say that Ajax eliminating Real Madrid in the round of 16 was a surprise would not be true, what is a surprise however was the manner that the Dutch side did it, unfortunate to lose the home leg 2-1 few would have given Ajax much hope of over turning the defeat (just ask Sergio Ramos who picked up a deliberate booking to sit out the 2nd leg) but that's exactly what Ajax did, defeating the current holders 4-1 in their own back yard. Its those two results that should give Juventus confidence of winning this tie, and at the same time cause for concern if they take a youthful Ajax side too likely.
THE CONCERN :
Throughout the first leg at home, Ajax created 19 goal scoring opportunities but would only hit the target 7 times, and despite creating more chances than Real Madrid they somehow lost the game 2-1. Had Ajax been more clinical in front of goal Real Madrid would have been taking a very different scoreline back to Spain, and this is the concern for Juventus. Ajax are a side that play with little to no fear, holding Bayern Munich to a stalemate twice in the group stage, whilst also having the potential to score several times once Ajax hit their stride. What is important is that Juventus contain the threat of Ajax's quick passing attack, which wont be made any easier with the absence of Chiellini who misses out due to injury. Whoever plays in the heart of the old lady's defence will need to be on top of their game, and given that Bonucci is a guaranteed starter he must defend better than he has shown over the season, and preferably not pass the ball to the opposition like he did for Milan's opening goal during the previous fixture. To emphasis how tough this challenge really is for Juventus il give you a quick statistic about Ajax, so far in their champions league campaign they have only lost one game over 14 fixtures (Ajax played 3 ties to qualify for the group stage) their record reads as follows
8 WINS
5 DRAWS
1 DEFEATS
Ajax have also scored 16 goals since the group stage began, that's 16 goals over 8 games.Take Ajax lightly or show up with the intention to defend throughout the night, and Juventus could be in trouble, big trouble.
CRISTIANO RONALDO:
The man of the moment, Mr champions league himself is back in the squad after suffering an injury whilst on international duties with Portugal. Over two weeks later CR7 is back, but the question is, in what condition? What is not known is whether or not Juventus star player will be in the starting 11 or the substitutes bench. Juventus signed Ronaldo specifically for nights like this in the Champions League but if Ronaldo is not 100% recovered then it would be unwise to risk another potentially more serious injury that would rule out Ronaldo for even longer, especially if one of those games is a Champions League semi final. Given that Juventus have Mandzukic, Dybala and an in form Moise Kean, Juventus are not lacking in attacking options. Yes, Ronaldo is the best of the bunch and scoring a hat trick to get Juventus here in the first place showed that. But risk injuring your star player when it isn't necessary? Unwise.
DUSAN TADIC :
Not familiar with the name? That's ok, but here's a reason why you should be weary at the sight of Tadic taking on the Juventus defence. Currently Tadic is the 3rd highest goal scorer in the champions league this season with 6 goals (4 coming in the group stage), Tadic also has 20 goals to his name in the Eredivisie. The man is scoring goals, and is more than capable of continuing this trend against Juventus, especially with a likely partnership of Bonucci & Rugani.
FIRST LEG BLUES :
In the previous 3 knock out ties Juventus have failed to win the first leg on all 3 occasions. Throwing a 2-0 lead away against Tottenham to draw 2-2, and losing 3-0 against Real Madrid last season, both at home. In the current season the trend continues, losing the first leg of their tie against Atletico Madrid 2-0. If Juventus are to progress then they must not continue this trend with poor first leg performances/results, Ronaldo cant be expected to keep Juventus European dreams alive with another hat trick when their backs are up against the wall.
NO FEAR:
With an average age of 24 Ajax are a youthful side that plays without fear, no matter the opponent. They had little to lose and all to gain once qualification for the knock out stage was obtained, the first time the Dutch club have achieved this in 13 years. Ajax manager Erik ten Hag more or less displayed this sense of no fear when talking about the tie, "Juve are an experienced team and they can put different strategies into play. It will be another big obstacle to overcome after Bayern and Real Madrid." The moral of the story being, we've faced big obstacles before, and we've overcame them both.
WHAT TO EXPECT :
A tough night, a few heart in mouth moments and hopefully for Ajax to fire a couple of blanks in front of goal. Missing Chiellini is a massive blow, even at 34 years old Chiellini is not only Juventus best defender, he's one of their most important players. The number one goal for Juventus should be to leave the Johan Cruijff ArenA with an away goal, most likely from a counter attack with the way that Ajax play their football. Juventus were fortunate to eliminate Atletico without the need of an away goal but to do the same against Ajax would be asking alot. Ajax wont travel to Turin with the intention of sitting back & defending a lead the way that Atletico did, instead they will attack and look to score, which is something Juventus should look to do in tonight's first leg as the best form of defence, is a strong offence.
Juventus travelled to Sardinia in the midst of an injury crisis with 5 first team regulars missing, most notably Cristiano Ronaldo, Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala. Thankfully this meant that in form Moise Kean was presented with a rare starting place in the first team. The question though, was could the rising star take advantage of the opportunity?
Both teams began the game brightly, as Cagliari showed little signs of fear and gave as good as they got from Juventus. Both teams also shared the same method of attack, get the ball and cross into the centre of your opponents box, its a method that Juventus have used throughout the season and tonight would be no different. The first chance of the game would come on the 8th minute, Alex Sandro with a good cross towards Emre Can who headed the ball high and over the woodwork. It didnt take much time until Juventus had another opportunity to score, this time coming from a set piece as Pjanic dangerously crossed into the penalty area, but Caceres couldnt properly connect with the ball. With almost 20 minutes played Moise Kean appeared to be fouled for a potential penalty, until replays showed that the youngster had went to ground a little too easily and was rightfully booked instead. Shortly after Moise Kean embarrasing himself, the opening goal of the night finally arrived in the form of an unlikely name, Leonardo Bonucci, who drifted into the Cagliari box and got on the end of a corner kick, completely unmarked to head the ball into the bottom corner of Cagliari's goal for 1-0. With Juventus now in front the Bianconeri would play with more confidence and look for a second goal before half time, most notably both Matuidi & Emre Can having efforts on goal that failed to reach the target
HALF TIME : CAGLIARI 0 - 1 JUVENTUS
Cagliari could consider themsevles lucky not to be down to 10 men during the opening 5 minutes of the half, as Lykogiannis (who was already booked) forcibly shoulder barged Kean off the pitch and against an advertising board. Moise Kean would again be at the centre of attention, getting onto the end of a long range cross from Pjanic, showing strength and determination to muscle past the remaining two Cagliari defenders for an attempt on goal that was comfortably saved by the goalkeeper. Towards the 70th minute Bernardeschi almost scored what would have been goal of the night, side footing a low cross from Matuidi only for his effort to deflect off a team mate and out for a goal kick. With the lead in tact Juventus slowed the pace of the game down as the tired legs of Cagliari no longer looked as threatening as they did for periods of the first half. This would change however as Cagliari would have their best chance of the half to equalise, as Pavoletti got on the end of a free kick but headed over the crossbar from a promising position. Yet again Pavoletti would have a similar chance to rescue a point for his side late on, and yet again he could only head the ball over the woodwork. Unfortunately for the home side shortly afterwards Juventus would go up the other end of the pitch and put the result beyond doubt as Bentancur drilled a low cross in front of goal towards a running Moise Kean who slotted the ball into the net, after being booed by the home fans throughout the night it was a goal that was fully deserved to win the game for Juventus 2-0
THE GOOD :
- Despite some notable absentees Juventus not only played significantly better than the previous game against Empoli, but still managed to take all three points from a tough away fixture.
- Moise Kean showed maturity beyond his age not to respond to Cagliari players (as well as their fans) attempting to provoke him, it could have been all too easy for the teenager to angrily react, practically being thrown off the pitch by Lykogiannis & abuse (some of which was unfortunately racist) from Cagliari fans throughout the night.
THE BAD :
- Another injury, Caceres had to be substituted in the second half due to what looked like a potential injury. Despite being a back up player you have to hope that its nothing serious. Juventus have enough players injured without adding Caceres to the list
- Cagliari fans, racism is something that unfortunately still exist's in society and it has risen its head one time too many during the current Serie A season. You can only hope that this will change over time but its very likely to remain and sadly few will be surprised is this happens again during next season.
