Atletico Madrid 2-0 Juventus
We always thought this Champions League clash would be too close to call.
And for 79 minutes it was.
Then it exploded into life in four second-half minutes to leave Atletico Madrid firmly in the driving seat to reach the quarter-finals.
The margins can be thin at this level, but two balls into the box fell perfectly for the home side and they took full advantage to stun the Italian champions.
Highlights of the game
Diego Simeone, no stranger to meetings with Juventus as a player, sprang a surprise by recalling Diego Costa to the starting line-up, and that meant a place on the bench for on-loan Chelsea man and former Juve player Alvaro Morata – a striker who admits he retains a soft spot for the ‘old lady’
Morata has a pedigree in this competition, too. He played for Juventus between 2014 and 2016, scoring 27 goals in 93 games in all competitions for the Bianconeri including in both legs of the semi-final and the final of the 2015 Champions League.
There was another former player in the Juve ranks in Mario Mandžukić who joined from Atletico in 2015, scoring 12 times in 28 Liga appearances during his one season in the Spanish capital.
In the opposite dugout, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri also included Paulo Dybala who had scored five goals in as many Champions League games this season, despite netting only three in 21 Serie A appearances.
The Italian coach has an underwhelming record against Spanish opposition and him, Simeone, SBOBET fans and the Champions League 2019 betting odds all know there is little between the sides: they are two clubs who have enjoyed considerable recent success in the competition without lifting the trophy.
Within a minute, there was drama as the hosts appealed for a penalty when Antoine Griezmann collided with his French international team-mate Blasé Matuidi.
It was then Juventus’ turn to threaten as Cristiano Ronaldo, who tormented the Rojiblancos during his nine years with Real, called Jan Oblak into action with a blockbuster free-kick and Giorgio Chiellini headed over from a corner.
Ronaldo scored 22 goals in 31 games against Atletico while at Real Madrid and responded to vicious insults from the home fans with a gesture boasting of his five Champions League triumphs.
The next set of Champions League 2019 highlights was provided by VAR.
The video evidence helped correctly overrule an initial awarding of a penalty when Costa went to ground.
Costa, who will miss the second leg after being booked inside seven minutes, saw his night summed up after the break when he failed to score after being played clean through by Antoine Griezmann. He was soon replaced by Morata – shortly after Griezmann had seen an effort hit the woodwork.
VAR again proved its worth when Morata had a header correctly disallowed for a push on a defender, and Atletico may have been forgiven for thinking it wasn’t going to be their night.
Yet they were not to be denied.
Eleven minutes from time, Morata’s header hit Mandžukić on the shins, and Uruguay international Jose Maria Gimenez reacted quicker than anyone.
Then, four minutes later, a further deflection went the way of the hosts and his club and country team-mate Diego Godin got to the ball first and slammed it beyond the grounded Wojciech Szczesny to give the home side a clear advantage.
A late double made in Madrid, manufactured in Uruguay and a dream night for Atletico.
Juventus have played in nine European Cup finals – losing a record seven, including all of their last five.
They face a mountain to climb to reach the quarter-finals this time around.
Key statistics
Atletico have won their last six home games against Italian visitors and are unbeaten in 10 matches against Italian clubs (won eight, drawn two).
They are also undefeated in 13 home UEFA Champions League knockout matches (won eight drawn five), since a 3-2 loss to Ajax in the 1997 quarter-final.
Costa, Thomas Partey and Alex Sandro will all miss the second leg after being cautioned.
Oblak has now kept four successive Champions League clean sheets for the first time.
What’s next?
Both sides now have three games before the second leg in Turin on March 12.
Atletico entertain Villarreal on Sunday (February 24), travel to Real Sociedad (March 3) and host Leganes the following weekend in La Liga.
Juve travel to Bologna in Serie A this weekend and then travel to nearest rivals Napoli where a repeat of their early-season victory would all but see them have one hand on the title.
They then host Udinese on March 8.
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