From a purely dramatic point of view, there is something desirable in the mess in which Juventus has sunk. In his desperation to win the Champions League, each and every resolution he made made that good fortune less likely. A home defeat to Lyon in the 16th circular is far more embarrassing than last season’s quarter-final loss to Ajax. The team that finished seventh in Ligue 1 is the one that qualifies for the 16th circular this season in Portugal, where it will face Manchester City, which finished on Friday the work against Real Madrid with relative ease.
Cristiano Ronaldo was signed in 2018 with a massive burden as he allegedly secured decisive goals and contributions at key moments, Juventus felt he had disappeared. Last season, Juventus came out in the eighth round. This season, after replacing series winner Max Allegri on the bench with Maurizio Sarri, he came out in the eighth round. He’s not imaginable with a more static Ronaldo by his side.
Juventus have been impeccably clean all season, their ninth consecutive league is more the result of the horrific monetary imbalances of Serie A than of their own excellence. That was the balance that came. However, even after losing the first leg for more than five months, there was a strange feeling that the Juve did not faint. That said, Lyon took the lead in the 13th minute when Memphis Depay scored a Panenka penalty after Houssem Aouar committed (approximately) a failure of Rodripass Bentancur.
Juventus had the most productive of the game since then, but their risk had been limited before they won a possible penalty after the ball hit Depay’s arm. Ronaldo switched to pitch what he hoped would be a moment of the year in a row when Juve would pass after scoring three unanswered goals in the return.
In time, Ronaldo was given a second and she came out of nowhere. There’s no sustained pressure. This is not the result of a wonderful move. In contrast, he only threw a left-handed shot at the most sensible angle from a position just outside the area.
A purpose that seemed emblematic of fashionable football: the wonderful team does not play very well, but it has players capable of breaking a match in its own way. Arguably that’s why Juventus spent so much on Ronaldo, for that kind of purpose right now.
Still, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to argue that the charge to the team was the value.
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Less dramatically, Madrid suffered a similar fate, a 2–1 loss to City’s 4–2 general outing. But the striking was less the result than the way Madrid made a catalogue of mistakes as if, accustomed to being challenged nationally, it had lost the ability to face when the groups resisted. Even through his standards, City insisted from the beginning, but Madrid’s discomfort was unexpected, the callous sense of disbelief that was brought directly to Raheem Sterling’s purpose while Gabriel Jesus dispossessed Raphael Varane in his own box.
But the City is also vulnerable to the defensive. He has struggled to settle on a left-back all season, and in the absence of sanctioned Benjamin Mendy, Joao Cancelo took the role. He was defeated too gently through Rodrygo, and his center was precise, it was still a little confusing that Karim Benzema could have a headbutt without being challenged through one of the 3 City players around him.
This presented the City with an intriguing dilemma, which highlighted the limits (and possibly glory) of Pep Guardiola’s philosophy. He caused great unrest in Madrid with his urgency – Phil Foden came close to scoring in a time before half-time after Thibaut Courtois missed a pass – but urgency is a risk. And with the rule of purpose absent, the City could not get stuck in a battle against all. It may be here that the ability to close a game might be valuable, but it’s a way to get into the game that Guardiola ideologically opposes.
But in the end, Madrid’s mistakes were too overwhelming. The concept was just beginning to take shape that City could pay for his failure to punish Madrid’s negligence in title when Varane miscalculated a kick clearing and then did not receive enough strength in his head, which allowed Jesus to score with a skillful punch. If the chaos was the result of the absence of Sergio Ramos (his red card in the first leg ruled him out for the second) or the lack of familiarity with the tension, or perhaps a little of both, the nervousness of Madrid was normal for a team. who won La Liga based on his defensive record.
Man City and Lyon would possibly have earned their place, but the deepest impression of how deficient the Italian and Spanish champions looked when they arrived here.