A scoreless draw was widely anticipated at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday evening but Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez rewrote the script as they fired Atletico Madrid to a 2-0 win over Juventus.It was expected to be a game of chess, and so it was as Diego Simeone and Massimiliano Allegri tried to figure one another out but in the end it was the former who left with a deserved first leg win.
Each team’s first play was a declaration of intentions, with both Leonardo Bonucci and Jan Oblak attempting long passes and neither side really wanted to take the initiative out of fear. The sides set up as predicted, with Atleti deploying a 4-4-2 and Juve showing something between a 4-3-1-2 and a 4-3-3. Antoine Griezmann was operating in a deeper role and kept watch on Miralem Pjanic, who went largely unnoticed on the night and Juve only bothered Oblak with set-pieces in the first half.
Atletico didn’t come out to attack, but neither did they shrivel up defensively. They maintained a middle block and forced their intensity onto Juventus, starting with individual battles that culminated in them bossing the match. Diego Costa, who pays no attention or just doesn’t understand chalkboards, broke the balance. He went toe to toe with anyone close enough and freed space for Griezmann to occupy.
His performance deserved a goal, but when a golden chance fell his way he inexplicably missed the target. Interestingly, Atleti got the breakthrough after he was withdrawn for Alvaro Morata, who helped open the scoring only moments after he had scored but saw his goal ruled out.The hosts feared Juve’s passing game but not only did they survive, they managed much more than that and take a two-goal cushion to Turin with them.
After suffering a 2-0 first leg defeat to Atletico Madrid, Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri was gracious towards his Champions League Round of 16 opponents and acknowledged the Bianconeri were poor in the second half. Goals from Jose Gimenez then Diego Godin gives the Spanish side a commanding advantage over the Bianconeri going into the match in Turin.
“You have to look at who you are playing against,” Allegri told the press. “Atletico have been making teams play badly for eight years. To play against Atletico you have to be patient and hit them when you have the chance. Atletico are different from all other teams. When you play against Atletico, you don’t get any big chances. In football you never know what can happen. They make you play badly and make the game slower.
“They are very strong, so in Turin we will have to play a faster, more precise match.” When quizzed on the manner of the defeat, Allegri insisted it wasn’t about the intensity of the players, but more the accuracy of their game. “The team played well,” Allegri went on. “The game was difficult, and they gave us very little.