FULL TIME: Juventus 1-0 Manchester City
And that’s that. A fairly entertaining game, albeit not a particularly memorable one. Juventus are the deserved winners on balance of play, though City had their chances, Raheem Sterling missing a sitter near the end. But that one squirted wide, and Juve leapfrog City into first place. Both teams will be in the second-round draw, but as things stand it’ll be City who’ll have a 50-50 chance of drawing one of Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. Matchday six may change all that, of course. But right now, this season doesn’t look so Bizarro after all.
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90 min +3: Juve tippy-tappy around the middle of the park for a while. The clock is their pal.
90 min +2: Toure powers down the middle again. It’s a great run, and he finds Sterling in the area on the left, but the final ball into the centre is aimless and easily hacked clear by Juve. For a second, it looked like things were opening up there.
90 min +1: Clichy probes down the left but can’t get a cross in. Juve hold firm and eventually the ball is passed out of play for a goal kick.
90 min: Toure, 30 yards out, looks for the top-left corner. It’s a very decent effort, but Gigi Buffon is in goal. He’d have had it covered, but it sails over the bar anyway. There will be four minutes of added time.
89 min: Delph slides into the back of Lichtsteiner. He’s fortunate not to pick up a booking for a clumsy lunge.
87 min: Toure, turning on the right-hand corner of the Juve area, tries a snapshot, but it’s blocked pretty much at source. It’s getting desperate now, if they want to retain top spot in this group.
85 min: De Bruyne wins a corner down the right. Barzagli heads powerfully clear. A very poor delivery. “Can someone kindly inform me what Navas does and why he continues to play for City?” asks Brian Tisinger. “All he seems to do is run somewhat quickly down the right wing and then send in wayward/hopeful/hopeless/aimless crosses that never result in goals. And every now and then he’ll try a shot, which usually ends up in a comical trajectory to row Z.” Bryan is an Aerospace Engineer, which suggests he knows a thing or two about trajectory. For shame, Navas, for shame.
83 min: Cuadrado replaces Dybala. Within seconds, he’s got the goal in his sights, to the left of the D. his first shot is blocked, and his second flashes wide right, with Caballero still finding his feet. This is quite absurd.
81 min: Pogba is very nearly sent clear down the right, but Hart claims. However the keeper has picked up an injury, and is replaced by Caballero. It’s all going wrong for City right now.
80 min: De Bruyne powers past Chiellini on the right. He fizzes a low ball into the six-yard box. Sterling is free, six yards out, with only Buffon to beat! Buffon, following the cross, has gone the wrong way. But Sterling somehow prods it wide of the right-hand post. What an absurd miss!
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79 min: Morata tears down the inside-right channel again. He’s in plenty of space, with only Otamendi anywhere near him. He’s got Dybala to his left, but opts to go it alone instead. To be fair, he’s got the right, dropping a shoulder to make it into the box. He’s one on one with Hart. He looks for the bottom left, but is denied by a brilliant save by Hart.
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77 min: Alex Sandro, who was very impressive in the first half, and set up the goal, is replaced by Evra, who’ll make his 100th Champions League appearance. Five of those have been in finals! That is some going.
75 min: Sterling twists and turns down the left, causing enough panic in the Juve defence to win a corner. From which nothing occurs. City have been very quiet for some time now.
73 min: Alex Sandro busies himself down the left and earns a Juve corner. Dybala takes. Bonucci attempts a frankly ambitious Ibrahimovic-esque twisting volley. Nope!
71 min: Sagna slides near Dybala as the Juve man makes off down the inside-left channel. Dybala goes over. There’s not much contact, just enough maybe for a free kick. Navas throws the ball down in disgust, claiming there was no contact at all. The ref books him for his petulance, then shows Sagna the card too, while he’s at it. Nothing comes of the set piece. All very pointless.
69 min: Sterling comes on for Aguero, still not long back from injury.
68 min: De Bruyne, down the inside-left, curls a ball towards Aguero, to the right of the D. Aguero meets the dropping ball with a volley, and it’s deflected wide right of goal. From the resulting corner, Delph screws a poor shot miles right from distance.
66 min: A lot of City passing in the midfield. They’re hogging possession. Or are Juventus letting them have it? They’re quick to put a foot in whenever City move forward.
64 min: Some stunning triangulation down the left involving Delph, Aguero and Fernando, but after making 30 yards at high-speed in the Barcelona style, the passing sequence breaks down as they reach the business end of the pitch.
63 min: Dybala is down getting a spot of treatment on his knee, having twisted it a little after planting his leg in the turf. He’s soon up again and walking, good to continue. But hearts were in mouths for a minute or two there.
60 min: Delph comes on for Fernandinho. “It somehow seems amazing that Buffon is ‘only’ 37,” opines Matt Dony. “Even when he was young, he had such a mature, experienced air about him. I just can’t picture him younger than mid-30’s. And he seems like he could go on forever.” The Dino Zoff de nos jours.
59 min: Marchisio sends a shot wide left from 25 yards. It’s safe to say this game has officially become entertaining. Chalk up another fine City show!
57 min: Navas earns a corner for City down the right. From the set piece, Aguero dances around on the edge of the area, but can’t work space for a shot. Good luck guessing who’ll be scoring the next goal in this game. Because it’s surely not going to end 1-0.
55 min: Morata nearly scores with his first touch! He’s sent scampering clear down the inside-right channel, and lifts a shot over Hart. The ball looks like drifting into the left-hand portion of the goal, but clanks off the post. Sturaro, rushing in, extends a leg in the hope of poking home, but the bounce eludes him and City hack clear! Astonishing! Then Dybala makes good down the left, breaking into the area, but is eased brilliantly off the ball by the shoulder of Navas.
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54 min: Morata comes on for the goalscorer Mandzukic, who is limping a wee bit. The home fans seem pretty pleased with the change.
53 min: De Bruyne forces a corner down the left, and takes it himself. The ball dips down by the far post. Fernando heads down towards the bottom right. Buffon turns the ball onto the right-hand post, then gathers, despite Toure’s telescopic leg probing around in the troublesome style. So close to an equaliser!
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51 min: Marchisio steps forward and looks for the top left from 25 yards. He warms Hart’s hands a little, but the City keeper is always claiming a gentle riser.
50 min: Manchester City’s Champions League matches this season have been brilliantly entertaining fare, one way and another. This one, not so much. Plenty of time for things to change. But Juve seem fairly happy to sit back, controlling the game, protecting their 1-0 lead. The strange beauty of Italian football.
49 min: Pogba sends Alex Sandro free down the left. He whips a low cross into the area. Otamendi, on the slide, hooks clear wonderfully under pressure from a lurking Mandzukic.
48 min: A fairly scrappy start to the half. Not many passes sticking to feet. Lichtsteiner tries to skitter off down the right, but runs the ball out of play.
And we're off again!
Juve get the ball rolling for the second half. No changes. Incidentally, the lads on BT Sport made a huge song and dance over Toure swapping shirts with Dybala at half time. Toure copping a lot of flak. “Can you imagine Vinny Jones, or any of the other Wimbledon lads, doing that?” splutters Harry Redknapp. Probably not, but then you’d have to wonder whether Dybala would pester Jones as persistently as he did Toure for his shirt. Although those Spall numbers did have a certain period charm.
Bizarro half-time entertainment: “The whole system is breaking down.”
HALF TIME: Juventus 1-0 Manchester City
And that’s your lot for the first half. City started well, but Juve have been the better team since the goal. And yet City have had a couple of half-chances. They’ll be looking to get back into this in the second half, and reclaim top spot in the group.
45 min: ... Jesus Navas clears the bar easily from 20 yards. A dreadful effort.
44 min: A dismal pass by Marchisio, back down the Juve left. Buffon has been dumped into all sorts of trouble. Aguero latches onto the loose ball, and tries to squeeze it over the keeper from a tight angle. Buffon stands firm and bundles the ball out for a corner. From which ...
42 min: Marchisio plays a simple pass down the right wing to release Lichtsteiner into acres of space. Where are City’s defenders? Clichy finally attaches himself onto Lichtsteiner’s shoulder. Lichtsteiner draws Hart and tries to chip him from a tight angle, but can only run the ball into the side netting. Juve close to their second.
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40 min: Clichy, down the left, curls a pass inside for Toure, on the edge of the box. Toure spins and lashes a first-time shot towards the bottom right. It’s wide and in any case not hit with much venom.
38 min: Mandzukic flaps his hand into Otamendi’s mug as the pair contest a ball down the Juve right. It’s a free kick, but nothing more. The tempo of this game has dropped.
37 min: Now it’s Juve’s turn to knock it around the middle of the park without showing too much ambition. As things stand, they’re in charge of this group.
35 min: Fernandinho is booked as he goes in to challenge Marchisio face on, but only succeeds in rapping the Juve man’s shin. He doesn’t bother complaining.
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33 min: Pogba plays an atypical loose pass in the midfield. Fernandinho romps off with it, and feeds De Bruyne down the left. Offside. So careless. Juve were light at the back, but Fernandinho mistimed his pass, and De Bruyne mistimed his run. Very poor.
32 min: Alex Sandro slides in on Sagna, out on the right wing. He’s lucky not to be booked for that. De Bruyne takes the free kick, a well-aimed curler towards the far post. But nobody challenges for the ball, and it drifts out of play for a goal kick.
30 min: Navas is back on. He’s down the right wing, near the corner flag, and pulls the ball back to Toure, 25 yards out. He looks to float a curler into the top left. It’s inches wide. Buffon was never getting to that. And Toure has the taste, because City soon win the ball back from the goal kick, and he has another lash at goal. This one’s not so good, though, lamely drifting off to the right. Buffon’s not getting that one either, but only because he can’t be bothered to go fetch.
28 min: Navas chases a ball off the pitch, then goes over on his ankle. He’s off getting treatment. While City are down to ten men, a long ball’s pumped down the Juve right. Lichtsteiner, inside the City box, heads back down for Mandzukic, who pearls a shot towards the bottom right. That’s got goal written all over it, but Hart turns it round the post majestically. What a splendid save. The corner comes to nothing. City are hanging on a little right now.
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25 min: City had been dictating the pace of the game before the goal, enjoying more possession. Now the balance of play has shifted. Pogba bursts into the City box down the left. He fires low into the centre. Clichy traps, and strangely hesitates before blootering clear. Had either Dybala or Mandzukic been on the front foot, they’d have had a chance teed up, six yards out. Hearts in City mouths.
22 min: Free kick for Juve in the middle of the City half. The ball’s swept wide left to Alex Sandro, who looks very dangerous indeed, and breaks past Sagna. Fernando, tracking back, intercepts what for a second or two looked like a dangerous cross.
20 min: City try to respond quickly as Toure goes on a ramble down the right, but with Aguero on the edge of the box waiting to be sprung, the midfielder hesitates and is swarmed by black-and-white shirts.
GOAL! Juventus 1-0 Manchester City (Mandzukic 18)
What a costly miss! Pogba breaks down the middle, then sprays a pass wide left for Alex Sandro, who takes a stride down the wing and curls a low cross into the six-yard box. Mandzukic has a yard on Otamendi, who is facing away from goal and falls backwards as the striker opens his body and sidefoots powerfully past Hart. City should have been leading; now they’re trailing, and as things stand Juve will be topping the group after matchday five.
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16 min: City should be leading. De Bruyne curls a cross into the Juve box from the right. Toure, on the edge of the six-yard box, traps the ball under pressure from Chiellini, and holds the man off as he lays off to Fernandinho, who just needs to place the ball into either side of the net from eight yards. Instead, he attempts to blast the cover off the ball, and misses the goal entirely, high and wide right. What a miss!
14 min: Pogba, with his back to goal, 25 yards out, rolls the ball under his foot to flummox Demichelis and Sagna, then Emre Cans a backheel down the inside-left channel to release Dybala into the box. Dybala should burst the net, as he’s one on one with Hart, but blazes over. He’s offside, though, so no matter.
13 min: Juve can’t get the ball right now. City aren’t making any attempt to attack. A draw will do for them, of course. Right now, they’re content to frustrate Juventus, and try to quieten a boisterous crowd.
11 min: Some sterile possession for City in the middle of the park. They go nowhere, but it’s grown-up football. They’ll be happy enough.
9 min: Alex Sandro makes space down the left and whistles a cross into the area. Demichelis, with City light at the back, hacks out for a throw. The ball’s flung towards Dybala, to the left of the D. He creams a volley wide left of goal. Again the whistle’s gone, Pogba having bowled Toure over in the middle of a nearby stramash. Juve on the front foot now, though.
7 min: Marchisio, in a deep position down the right channel, swings a ball into the box for Mandzukic on the penalty spot. The striker attempts a diving header, but gets it all wrong, the ball squirting off way to the right of goal. He should have done better, but won’t worry too much, as he’d mistimed his run and was offside anyway.
5 min: ... they switch the ball to the other flank, where Sagna bursts into space and wins a corner. From the set piece, De Bruyne fires low and hard into the six-yard box from the right wing. Juve hack clear, but only to Fernandinho, 20 yards out, to the right of the D. The City midfielder fires a shot towards the bottom left, but it’s inches wide of the post. Buffon probably had that covered were it on target, but a fine effort nonetheless.
4 min: Some nice possession from City, Clichy, Fernandinho and De Bruyne combining down the left, before being forced back. They don’t lose the ball, though. And ...
2 min: Fernandinho’s hand connects with Dybala in the midfield. The striker rolls around a bit but the referee isn’t interested. He gets up, and chases after a long Pogba pass down the left channel. He reaches the edge of the City area, and lashes a wild, wild shot miles left of goal. Both teams seem in the mood for this.
And we're off!
City get the ball rolling. Aguero turns a quick ball down the left channel for Clichy to chase, but Barzagli is over quickly to snuff out any early danger. A nice brisk start from the visitors, though.
The teams are out! The less said about the music parping out of the PA speakers the better. City supporters will have my back there. Juventus are sporting their famous Notts County inspired black-and-white stripes, while City are in Northside 12” sleeve influenced neon yellow. One look’s better than the other. Answers on a postcard. A cracking atmosphere, though. We’ll be off in a minute!
But after a forgettable Saturday evening, things have already started looking up this week for City. The club announced yesterday that they’re getting shot of their heraldic eagle and his unearned “decorative” stars, and will be going back to a more traditional round crest. Copyright issues would get in the way, of course, but if only they could use their 1970s effort again. What a classic bit of design that was. Gorgeous. [Drifts off to daydream about Panini, the old Match of the Day on-screen graphics, etc., until kick-off]
Manuel Pellegrini speaks. “We didn’t have many options tonight. We have to play three games now in one week, so I think this was the best team to start if we want to get top spot in the group. We hope the team performance will be similar to the one in Sevilla, though obviously it’s not the same team. It’s a big statement for us to qualify with two games to spare. It’s one step higher than we have done in the previous seasons.”
City bench Raheem Sterling, who possibly didn’t enjoy himself that much on Saturday evening against former club Liverpool. But then who in City blue did? Nicolás Otamendi and Gaël Clichy return at the back, replacing Eliaquim Mangala and Aleksandar Kolarov, while Fernandinho bolsters the midfield. As for the hosts: they opt to give their exceptionally promising young Argentinian striker Paulo Dybala a chance to register his first Champions League goal. He’s got six in 12 in the Italian league, so City better not faff around like they did at the weekend. Gamefaces on, chaps!
Tonight's teams
Juventus: Buffon, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini, Lichtsteiner, Sturaro, Marchisio, Pogba, Alex Sandro, Mandzukic, Dybala.
Subs: Neto, Zaza, Morata, Cuadrado, Lemina, Rugani, Evra.
Manchester City: Hart, Sagna, Demichelis, Otamendi, Clichy, Fernando, Fernandinho, Jesus Navas, Toure, De Bruyne, Aguero.
Subs: Caballero, Sterling, Kolarov, Delph, Maffeo, Adarabioyo, Celina.
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany).
🎼 ♫ Die Meister BOO Die Besten BOOOOOOO Les grandes équipes GERROFF BOOOOOOO The champions ♪
Could this be Manchester City’s Bizarro World season? For the last few years, they’ve excelled in the Premier League, while repeatedly stumbling in their pursuit of Europe’s biggest prize. This time round, though ...
City are hardly out of the Premier League race, two points off the lead in November. But having suffered a couple of thumping 4-1 defeats, a third title in five years might not be quite the cakewalk some had envisioned. Swings and roundabouts, though. The Champions League has caused City so much pain in recent seasons, some of it self-inflicted, some of it down to sheer bad luck. But this time round, the mood music sounds a little different.
In seasons past, a home defeat on matchday one would have set a miserable tone for the whole campaign. But City are more seasoned continental campaigners now, and they responded to adversity by carving out two consecutive last-gasp victories against Borussia Monchengladbach and Sevilla. Then in the return fixture against the Europa League champions, they delivered as scintillating a half of football as you’ll see all season. The butchers of Sevilla.
That 3-1 pounding qualified City for the next stage with two games of the group still to play. So the immediate pressure is off. But bitter experience has taught Manuel Pellegrini and his men the importance of finishing top of the group and avoiding the likes of Barcelona in the next round. A win in Turin tonight, paying Juventus back for that matchday-one defeat, would secure that precious top spot, mapping out a potentially easier route to the quarter finals and beyond.
Easier said than done, of course. Juve, last season’s runners-up, are one of only five sides still undefeated in the group stage, are on a 15-match unbeaten run at home, and the last time they hosted English opposition they thrashed Chelsea 3-0 in the 2012/13 Champions League groups. And after suffering three defeats in their first seven games of the season, they’ve lost just one of their last ten. A rare old test for City, then. Still, if it’s going to be their year ...
Kick off: 8.45pm at the Juventus Stadium in Turin, 7.45pm back home in Manchester.
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