Aston Villa denied late winner in goalless draw with Juventus: Five talking points from the game | OneFootball

Aston Villa and Juventus played out a goalless draw at Villa Park in the Champions League. Here are some of the main talking points from the clash, from Hayters TV’s Dan Bennett…

Late controversy sees Villa winner ruled out

Aston Villa thought they had won the game late on when Juve goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio spilled a free-kick in the box and Morgan Rogers reacted quickest to fire into the empty net, but after a long delay for an injury to the goalkeeper and much confusion as to whether the goal had been given, the referee eventually awarded the visitors a free-kick for a foul on the goalkeeper much to the frustration of the home support who had already been left feeling aggrieved by some of the decisions in the game.

New format could be a factor in more cautious approach

This season’s Champions League is the first with a completely new format, with teams playing eight league games against different teams instead of the usual six group games against the same three opponents. There are pros and cons for both formats, but the extra two games and change in format has undoubtedly lead to less jeopardy, and therefore a lesser need to take risks. An injury hit Juve playing away against a tough opponent would have been happy with a point, and Villa’s strong first part of the league stage means they did not need to go all out trying to win the game, despite giving it more of a go in the second half.

Martinez proves he is worthy of the Yashin trophy

Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez was given a special reception before the start of the game after recently being awarded the Yashin trophy, given to the best performing goalkeeper in the world, at the Ballon D’Or ceremony in Paris. He was met with loud applause and chants of “the world’s number one” by the home support and he would later prove he is well worthy of the acclaim, producing a fine reflex save to keep out Chico Conceicao’s back post header in what looked to be a certain goal.

Young Juve have promise

This Juventus side is far from the quality of those in years gone by, when the likes of Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Pirlo and Alessandro Del Piero were gracing the black and white shirt, but this young side under the new management of Thiago Motta have promise. They are incredibly tough to beat, having yet to lose a Serie A game despite drawing seven of their opening 13 matches in the league, and have some exciting youngsters in the likes of Kenan Yildiz, Khephren Thuram and Nicola Savona who will only get better. Motta’s side have been decimated by injuries, naming just a 17-man squad for the game against Villa with only four outfielders on the bench but despite missing the likes of Bremer, Douglas Luiz and Dusan Vlahovic, there was plenty for them to be encouraged about given the circumstances.

Villa will be a difficult proposition in the knockout stages

Villa are in a very strong position to make the knockout stages of the competition after this point against Juventus, which would be a huge achievement in this team’s first season among Europe’s elite. They did not cause Juve too many problems going forward but the organisation Unai Emery has instilled into this team will make them a hugely difficult opposition when the knock-out stages begin as demonstrated with performances like this. There is a reason Emery has been so successful in European competitions and the big favourites to win the trophy will want to avoid facing Aston Villa.