Chiellini hands Italians a spot in the last four
IN the end the three wise men at the heart of the Juventus defence survived, leading their team to an improbable appearance in a Champions League semi-final. Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini are usually so reliable and yet they lived dangerously against Monaco in this second leg — Chiellini, in particular.
In the first minute the 30-year-old was shown a yellow card for scooping the ball away with his hand after his slip allowed Joao Moutinho what looked a clear run on goal. It was a calculated play that paid off.
Ultimately, all that counts is an appearance in next month’s semi-final and they are in the draw after preserving their 1-0 lead from the first leg.
This is the first time Juve have reached the last four since they appeared in the final against Milan at Old Trafford back in 2003. To see their name in the last four, you would think the Old Lady of Turin has raised her game of late.
They are safe in Serie A, dismissing nearest rivals Lazio at the weekend with a 2-0 home victory. The Champions League was the next target, to survive this second leg inside a surprisingly noisy Stade Louis II and progress.
Juve could smell it after last week’s 1-0 victory, an uncomfortable cushion that was given to them when Arturo Vidal scored a controversial second- half penalty. This was all about survival.
At times this was about the darker side of the game, Chiellini’s early booking giving a sign of things to come. Andrea Pirlo got away with one too, rotating to make sure none of Monaco’s midfielders could take advantage of an unexpected loss of balance in midfield.
Monaco were desperate to sniff out a goal, to turn the energy and rampaging runs of their central midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia into something tangible.
He deserved so much from a towering performance that showed off his range of movement, neat passing and ability to shoot from distance in front of France coach Didier Deschamps.
There was a decent shout for a penalty in the first half when he was sandwiched between Chiellini and Vidal, sent off balance when the pair squashed him as he made his way into the area. The 22- year- old was awesome here — anyone who can outshine Pirlo must be doing something right.
At half-time the pair embraced, doing away with protocol by swapping shirts long before they had reached the dressing rooms. Pirlo’s base layer was soaked through, having been given the runaround by his opponent. Pirlo, who provided the 60-yard loft wedge pass that led to the penalty in the first leg, was the obvious go-to man again. This time those reverse passes, the balls played inside defenders from distance, were a touch too long for his forwards Alvaro Morata and Carlos Tevez.
They had a couple of chances though. Tevez came closest, his arrowed effort skidding wide of Danijel Subasic’s lefthand post on the stroke of half-time.
It had Juve’s seven substitutes and their coaching staff leaping off the bench, convinced their little Argentine magician had put the Italians ahead.
Monaco added an attacking threat for the second half, bringing on Dimitar Berbatov to replace midfielder Jeremy Toulalan.
The Bulgarian striker was named among the substitutes in the first leg, but this was a game Monaco needed to play on the front foot. At least he gave them another dimension, peeling away from Juve’s three-man defence to try to find some room.
THERE was a bit of the old Berbatov in his display, increasing the tempo with quick, first-time passes, or those blindside runs into the penalty area as Leonado Jardim’s team went in search of an opener.
They needed it, the one chance to beat Gianluigi Buffon to give them a chance of reaching the semi-final of the Champions League. Buffon was a key player here.
He made a couple of decent stops, but his commanding presence and his reassuring nature in that Juve goal is a formidable hurdle for the opposition. Here, he simply could not be beaten.
As it happened, it was the visitors that came closest in the dying stages, Pirlo thumping a swirling free-kick on to the post from 35 yards.
MONACO (4-3-3): Subasic 6; Fabinho 7, Raggi 6, Abdennour 6.5, Kurzawa 6; Joao Moutinho 6.5, Toulalan 6 (Berbatov 46min, 7), Kondogbia 7.5; Bernardo Silva 6.5, Martial 6 (Germain 76), Ferreira-Carrasco 6.5 (Carvalho 87). Subs not used: Stekelenburg, Dirar, Wallace, Elderson. Booked: Bernardo, Kondogbia
JUVENTUS (3-5-2): Buffon 6.5; Barzagli 6, Bonucci 6.5, Chiellini 6; Lichsteiner 6.5, Marchisio 6, Pirlo 6.5, Vidal 6 (Pereyra 77), Evra 6.5 (Padoin 90); Tevez 6.5, Morata 6 (Llorente 69, 6). Subs not used: Storari, Ogbonna, Stuararo, Matri. Booked: Chiellini, Tevez.
Man of the match: Geoffrey Kondogbia. Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland) 7.