Juventus 2 Monaco 1 (agg 4-1): Mario Mandzukic and Dani Alves fire the Old Lady into the Champions League final
Serie A leaders seal date of destiny in Cardiff after securing victory over the French side in Turin
WATCH and learn Pep Guardiola.
Juventus boss Max Allegri showed Manchester City how to beat Monaco comprehensively and reach the Champions League final.
Allegri earns a quarter of Pep’s £20million-a-year Etihad salary and his squad cost about a third of what City’s owners have splashed.
And yet while Guardiola’s team conceded SIX goals in two matches against Leonardo Jardim’s cavalier Monaco, Juve shipped one. And by the time Kylian Mbappe, who else, struck it was all over anyway. First half strikes from Mario Mandjukic and Dani Alves had put Juve two up on the night and four on aggregate.
Lop-sided City flopped against the free-flowing Monaco. But football is played in two parts – attack AND defence. If you can’t defend then au revoir City. But if you can do both as Allegri and Juve showed then it’s arrivederci. To Monaco.
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Mandjukic and Alves’ strikes turned this into a procession.
Mbappe slotted through a consolation after 69 minutes as Buffon finally conceded in the Champions League after 690 minutes!
And so Juventus reached their second Champions League final in three years.
They now await their rivals between Real Madrid and Atletico. Sixteen years ago Juve sold Zinedine Zidane to Real for a then world-record £49m. They re-invested part of that in securing a promising goalkeeper for a world record fee that still stands.
As does that keeper, Gigi Buffon, who’s turned out to be simply the best in history. With Real 3-0 up and favourites to also reach the final in Cardiff it would be fitting if boss Zidane were to come up against his Old Lady.
And the tifosi, who have waited for 21 long years since they last won Ol’Big Ears against Ajax in 1996 are desperately hoping this is their time.
They have of course lost two finals since then, in 2003 at Old Trafford to Milan on pens, and two years ago in Berlin against Barcelona.
They have already exacted revenge from Barcelona and Lionel Messi, without conceding a single goal in this year’s quarter-finals.
And they would love to avenge their 1998 defeat to Real when the Spanish giants won La Septima, their seventh crown to end a 32-year wait for the trophy back then.
The Italian giants are once again on the verge of a Treble. They need a point at title-rivals Roma on Sunday to seal their sixth successive Scudetto – a historic achievement.
And the Bianconeri have already reached the Coppa Italia final.
“With impudence, passion and fury to bring her under La Mole” read the giant banner. “Her” is the European Cup. La Mole Antonelliana is the most famous building in this most beautiful Italian city. It currently houses the National Museum of Cinema.
Quite apt this, as it was a case of the Old Lady vanishes early on. It threatened to turn into a thriller to rival Alfred Hitchcock’s classic from the 1930s with Monaco nearly taking the lead three times in the opening 10 minutes.
Joao Moutinho crossed and Radamel Falcao nearly stole in but Buffon did enough to put him off.
Moutiho’s blast on five minutes took a wicked deflection and fell to Kylian Mbappe who beat the onrushing Buffon first-time but it came of the inside of his far post. He was given offside but he’d scared the living daylights of the home crowd. We did not see him again till 69 minutes in, but the youngster proved his worth by finally getting one past Buffon.
Monaco boss Jardim’s 3421 formation initially flummoxed Juve’s full-backs early on and kept the Bianconeri pinned inside their own half.
But they rode it and on 22 minutes it was more by luck than design when Dybala slipped but so did Jemerson and Higuain was clean through. He to chip Danijel Subasic but Kamil Glik cleared before it crossed the line.
However Allegri made a slight adjustment pushing his full-back Dani Alves higher up the pitch which allowed Juve more breathing space in midfield. And the chances started flowing for Juve.
Moments later Higuina lsipped Mandjukic through but Subasic made himself big and saved what looked a certain goal.
But Juve had sassed it out and a beautiful combination saw Pijanic play the one-two with Dybala and go one-v-one but Glik denied the Bosnian ace with a flying tackle to block his shot.
Finally on 33 minutes the tifosi exploded. And it was an artfully and cunningly crafted move that led to Juve’s opener.
It started on the left from Allegri’s other full-back Alex Sandro who cut inside to Paulo Dybala. The Argentine wizard turned and spotted Pjanic behind him on the right. The Bosnian had time and space to float the perfect diagonal cross to Mandjukic who headed onto Subasic from point-blank range but then smashed the rebound into the roof of the net.
That is how you create space, that is how you use time. That is how you get to the Champions League final.
Cute, cool and clinical.
Dybala had the tie at his feet a minute from the interval but Subasic saved again with his feet for a corner.
Subasic punched it away but Alves fired home a stunning volley from 25 yards. It was all over before half time.
At least Jardim’s men got a goal when Moutinho cut it back for Mbappe to slot home – only the third goal Juve have let in all season in Uefa’s elite competition.
The night belonged to the Bianconeri.
And as the huge mosaic by Juve fans announced before kick-off: It’s time for Cardiff.