Juve victorious over Manchester City | OneFootball

It was a great night at the Allianz Stadium; Juve defeated Manchester City 2-0, giving themselves a huge boost in the Champions League after a near perfect performance.

AN EVEN START

City controlled possession in the early stages: in the 3rd minute, Kevin De Bruyne found Erling Haaland with a through ball, but the Norwegian's effort was weak and comfortably dealt with by Michele Di Gregorio. The Bianconeri responded in the 6th minute through Dusan Vlahovic, whose left-footed strike was diverted behind for a corner by Ruben Dias, before the play was brought back for offside.

As the game wore on, Juventus grew into the game and gained confidence, and in the 19th minute they went close to taking the lead: Kenan Yildiz let off a powerful left-footed shot that grazed the post. City threatened at the other end through Jeremey Doku (in the 23rd minute), but Federico Gatti was alert to the danger and dealt with it confidently.

Manchester City seemed to be waiting for the right moment to strike, using their technical ability to probe the Juve defence, but the Bianconeri remained switched on and resisted the Citizens’ increasing pressure in the closing stages of the first half. Manuel Locatelli through himself in the way of a close-range attempt by Haaland (36th minute), then De Bruyne picked out the Norwegian again in the 39th minute, but Di Gregorio did well to deny him.

JUVE TAKE THE INITIATIVE

Juve came out firing in the second period as they sought to shift the game’s momentum: in the 48th minute, Yildiz attempted a volley from a Teun Koopmeiners corner, but the referee blew for offside; two minutes later, City had a great chance, with Ilkay Gundogan getting on the end of De Bruyne's pass, but the chance was snuffed out expertly by Gatti.

It was in the 53rd minute that Juventus took the lead. Gatti's header was parried by Ederson, but Yildiz latched onto the loose ball and picked out Vlahovic: Ederson got something on the Serbian's header, but the ball went over the line. The goal gave Juve the lead, and the Allianz Stadium erupted.

City then threw everything forward in search of an equaliser, but the Bianconeri remained defensively solid and looked to strike on the counter-attack.

DI GREGORIO & MCKENNIE SECURE VICTORY

In the 68th minute City went close to equalising: Gundogan attempted a great volley, but Di Gregorio was once again on hand to divert it behind for a corner. Shortly after, it was De Bruyne who came close to scoring with a powerful shot that flew just over the crossbar. Juventus, however, responded in lethal fashion. Juve doubled their advantage in the 75th minute: Danilo (after a great performance tonight) started a counter-attack, finding Weston McKennie, who in turn played it out wide to Weah, who, having just come on as a subsitiute, delivered a perfect cross from the right. McKennie sorted his feet out and beat Ederson with a spectacular finish, making it 2-0 and securing the three points.

In the last ten minutes, Juventus controlled the game intelligently, trying to lower the tempo and repelling City's last-ditch attempts.

Juve won thanks to a perfectly executed tactical and technical performance, as the Bianconeri return to winning ways in great style.

UCL | Gallery | Juventus - Manchester City

JUVENTUS 2-0 MANCHESTER CITY

Allianz Stadium, Wednesday 11 December, 2024 at 21:00 (CET) UEFA Champions League, league phase – Matchday 6

Goals: 53’ Vlahovic (J), 75’ McKennie (J)

Juventus: Di Gregorio, Savona, Gatti, Kalulu, Danilo, Locatelli, Thuram (69’ McKennie), Conceicao (69’ Weah), Koopmeiners, Yildiz (84’ Mbangula), Vlahovic (85’ Douglas Luiz). Unused Substitutes: Perin, Adzic, Fagioli, Pinsoglio, Rouhi. Coach: Thiago Motta.

Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Gvardiol, Lewis, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Grealish (87’ Nunes), Silva, Haaland, Doku (79’ Savinho). Unused Substitutes: Kovacic, Ortega, Foden, Wright, Simpson-Pusey, Hudson, O’Reilly, McAtee, Wilson-Esbrand. Coach: Pep Guardiola.

Referee: Clement Turpin Assistants: Nicolas Danos, Erwan Finjean Fourth Official: Matthieu Vernice

Bookings: 84’ Grealish (M), 85’ Di Gregorio (J), 86’ Silva (M)

Next Match:

Juventus-Venezia Serie A – Matchday 16 Saturday, 14 December, 2024 at 20:45 (CET) Allianz Stadium