Juventus Season 2013-2014

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Caceres: Juventus will not be distracted by Scudetto

The defender is eager to forget about domestic duties for now as he attempts
to help secure a place in the Europa League semi-finals against Olympique Lyonnais.

Apr 9, 2014

Juventus defender Martin Caceres says he is ignoring the Serie A run in for the time being and is eager to progress in the Europa League.

The Bianconeri stand on the brink of their third straight Scudetto and have also made sound progress in Europe, having reached the quarter-finals of the continent's second competition.

The Uruguayan is concentrating firmly on sealing a berth in the last four when his side host Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday, having won the first leg 1-0 in France last week.

"We're enjoying playing in the Europe League at the moment," he told a press conference.

"We've got a strong Lyon side in front of us now and we'll look to make the next round with an excellent performance – that's our aim.

"We're playing every three days so we're taking things game by game. Tomorrow's is the most important of the week, and we won't think about the league until that's over."

As the Bianconeri fight on two fronts, Caceres has found himself firmly back in coach Antonio Conte's plans of late, and he is adamant he will give his all during a gruelling run of fixtures.

"I'm feeling in good shape physically and I'm happy to be playing all these games during this period when the coach and side need me."

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

'We must have no regrets at the end' -
Garde urges Lyon to rise to Juventus challenge

The Ligue 1 side were beaten 1-0 at home by the Biaconeri in the first leg of their
Europa League quarter-final but their coach maintains "anything can happen" in Turin.

Apr 9, 2014

Olympique Lyonnais boss Remi Garde has challenged his players to leave Turin with "no regrets" on Thursday as they look to overturn a Europa League quarter-final deficit to Juventus.

Leonardo Bonucci's late goal handed the Italian champions a first-leg advantage and they are strong favourites to progress to the last four in front of their own fans.

Garde admits his side are facing a mountain to climb but insists his players can turn the tie around if they maintain their concentration.

"Juve are a solid team," he told a press conference. "We know how strong they are but over the 90 minutes of a match anything can happen.

"Getting through to the next round will be a huge challenge but we are here to turn the situation around.

"We will play with the same spirit as we showed in the first leg. We need great concentration, determination and solidarity. We will also need a little luck due to the quality of the team we are facing.

"European experience doesn't always make the difference. It's concentration that does. I'm asking the lads to give everything and to have no regrets at the end of the match."

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Garde: Anything can happen

Apr 9, 2014

Lyon Coach Remi Garde believes his side still have a fighting chance in their Europa League quarter-final with Juventus.

The French outfit trail the Old Lady 1-0 from the first leg and must now overturn the deficit at Juventus Stadium tomorrow night.

“Juve are a solid team,” Garde said a Press conference this afternoon. “We know how strong they are but over the 90 minutes of a match anything can happen.

“Getting through to the next round will be a huge challenge but we are here to turn the situation around.

“We will play with the same spirit as we showed in the first-leg. We need great concentration, determination and solidarity.

“We will also need a little bit of luck, owing to the quality of the team we are facing.

“I’m asking the boys to give everything and to have no regrets at the end of the match.”

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Lacazette: Lyon believe

Apr 9, 2014

Alexandre Lacazette says Lyon believe they are capable of turning around their Europa League tie with Juventus.

The French side must win tomorrow’s quarter-final second leg at Juventus Stadium to have a chance of progressing against the Old Lady.

“Juve have a lot of defensive quality,” Lacazette said at the pre-match Press conference. “We will see tomorrow whether we are able to exploit anything.

“We can do it, the result from the first leg means we can still believe. In Lyon we caused them some problems.

“The fact PSG are out of the Champions League and that we are the only team left in Europe gives us added motivation.

“We know we can do it, this sport is based on meeting challenges. It’s great that we get to play in such a beautiful stadium.”

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Europa League Preview: Juventus vs. Lyon,
Leg 2: The final four awaits

Apr 9, 2014

By nature, I'm a very optimistic person when it comes to Juventus-related things and Juventus-related events. So, when I see Juventus play the way they did over the weekend against Livorno, all of those random optimistic parts in my noggin get a little more positive than they have in past weeks. It's hard not to, really. The way Juve played, it's impossible not to be happy about it.

Was I sitting there watching Juventus dominate Livorno from opening kickoff to final whistle and screaming "THEY'RE BACK, BABY! THEY'RE BACK!"? Nah, I don't think I would go that far. Ninety-minutes against Livorno won't completely outweigh what we've been seeing the past month or so. But considering how they played on Sunday night, it's hard not to think there was at least something good that came out of it.

See, that's the eternal optimist in me coming out again.

Now, this is the thing they need to do — show it wasn't just a 90-minute outlier in a four-week period full of yuck and drab performance after drab performance.

It's safe to say that Lyon aren't Livorno. Therefore, thinking that Juventus will have things as easy as they did on Sunday will be a little hard to believe. But if Juventus play anywhere close to the way that they did three days ago tomorrow night in Turin, then this Europa League journey will be continuing and the chance to the final into a home game.

But at the same time, small sample sizes can be funny, wonky, whatever you want to call them. We can say that Juventus are possibly turning a corner into something positive again and that better days are ahead. Or, the devil sitting on my shoulder can slap me in the face and remind me of how Juventus played against Napoli two weekends ago. For every good that happened against Livorno over the weekend, there's four weeks full of meh to remind us that this probably some instant kind of fix.

Basically what I'm trying to say is this: Juventus can either build off of what they did against Livorno or they can just revert back to what they've been for most of March and April.

I think I know which one I'd prefer. I think I know which one Antonio Conte prefers. Now it's just time to get to the semifinals. That's because it's what everybody prefers.


GOOD NEWS

Juve returns home with an away goal in their back pocket. That's a little different than, say, the situation they had against last opponent in the Round of 16. There's also the thing about playing the first leg at home rather than this way, but that was pretty much a given.


BAD NEWS

It wasn't exactly a dominant showing against Lyon in France. It's pretty easy to figure that out when you think about Leonardo Bonucci having to bail everybody with a last-minute goal.


WHAT TO WATCH FOR

1. Protecting the away goal.

Because what else is more important than that when trying to advance? Exactly. The biggest thing that will determine Juventus advancing or not is pretty simple — the team that showed up in France or the team that faced Livorno. If it's the former, then hold on to your hat because it's probably going to be a pretty stressful 90 minutes. If it's the latter, then Good Juventus is here to make all of us happy again and Conte's squad will be two games away from the Europa League final in their own stadium. Obviously every game is different. That's cliché, sure, but it's the truth as well. Which Juventus will stand up?

2. How Lyon defends Andrea Pirlo.

I'll open the question up for discussion: Did Lyon do the best job of any team Juve have faced this season in taking Andrea Pirlo completely out of the game? Go ahead and talk about it because it's out there now. But the facts were the facts — Lyon's primary objective was to take away Pirlo and that's exactly what they did. It caused Juventus to basically build their attack from the back through Bonucci. Not that doing so is such a bad thing as a compliment to Pirlo's brilliance, but not as a complete substitute to the man with the magical beard. There's only one Pirlo, you guys. Just in case you forgot.

3. Does Carlos Tévez get the start?

There are a whole lot of people who want to see Carlitos break his European goose egg and find the back of the net sooner rather than later. But if the rumor mill is to be believed, Tévez may not even part of the starting lineup when Juve take the field against Lyon tomorrow night. To put it the way Google translate turned a Tuttosport article from Italian into English, "Conte can't stop thinking about Giovinco." Well, when you put it that way...

In all seriousness, if Conte does end up resting Tévez, I'll understand why. Juventus have a goal to play with and that means Conte has some room to work with when it comes to who he does or doesn't choose to start. And we all know that Conte loves him some Giovinco. So much so, he can't stop thinking about him. (I couldn't resist.)

JuventusFC ✔ @juventusfcen
#Conte: "Will @carlitos3210 play? I will watch him in tomorrow's workout and speak to him, then make my decision." #JuveOL #UEL

4. Will Angelo Ogbonna get the start over Giorgio Chiellini?

While Andrea Barzagli still works his way back into the lineup, one of Juventus' other injured defenders made his way back into the squad over the weekend. Ogbonna didn't see any kind of playing time, but his inclusion in the squad for the Livorno game was certainly a sign that he is getting back to full health. And there's no denying that Chiellini has been playing just as much as anybody in recent weeks because of all the injuries and games happening every three or four days. Much in the same fashion as with Tévez, the 1-0 scoreline being in Juve's favor could give Conte the idea to possibly give a few guys a rest. Not saying it will happen, just kinda throwing it out there.

5. How an extremely well-rested Arturo Vidal plays.

I can't remember a time where a player has had to sit out back-to-back games in different competitions because of the same reason — yellow cards — like Vidal did in the first leg against Lyon and then Livorno over the weekend. Vidal, who plays as much as anybody in the non-Gigi Buffon category, has basically had nearly two weeks off since his last appearance in a game. He's had so much time off that the last time Vidal play it was a totally different month. Okay, so "last month" was 10 days ago, but you probably get what I'm saying. The rest came at a good time for Arturo, and now it's time to get back to his usual awesomeness.


My starting XI (3-5-2): Buffon; Caceres, Bonucci, Chiellini; Isla, Vidal, Marchisio, Pogba, Asamoah; Tevez, Giovinco


OFFICIAL KICKOFF TIME: 9:05 P.M. IN ITALY; 3:05 P.M. ON THE EAST COAST; 12:05 P.M. ON THE WEST COAST

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Lyon won't be affected by PSG exit, says Lacazette

The attacker believes his side are fully capable of knocking Juventus out in their
Europa League quarter-final and says they don't feel pressure as Ligue 1's sole representatives.

Apr 9, 2014

Olympique Lyonnais attacker Alexandre Lacazette claims his side will not be affected after watching Paris Saint-Germain crash out of Europe on Wednesday.

The Ligue 1 champions surrendered a 3-1 first-leg lead to lose out on away goals to Chelsea following a 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge, meaning Lyon remain Ligue 1's sole representatives in continental competition.

Lacazette insists his side feel no extra pressure as France's sole surviving outfit and says there is plenty of hope within the squad that they can overturn their first-leg deficit to Juventus.

"The fact that PSG have gone out and we're the only French team left in Europe does not change our approach," he told a press conference.

"The narrow scoreline [from the first leg] means there's hope as far as we're concerned. We managed to give Juve some difficulties in the first leg.

"Juve have plenty of quality in defence but I believe we can do it tomorrow night. Ligue 1 and the Europa League are very different, but our last victory over Valenciennes on Sunday gives us added belief."

Lyon's clash with Juventus in Turin kicks off at 21:05 CET.

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Europa League preview

Juventus, FC Basel, Porto and Benfica head into Thursday's Europa League last-eight
second-leg clashes knowing that a win will be enough to book their place in the semi-finals.

Apr 9, 2014

All four teams claimed victories in the first leg of their ties, but it is Basel who will travel to Valencia with the biggest advantage, having beaten the Spanish outfit 3-0 first up.

A brace from Matias Delgado and a third from Valentin Stocker put the Swiss side in the driving seat heading into the second leg.

No side has ever come back from a three-goal deficit at this stage of the competition, so los Che were always going to be up against it, but they are further hindered by the fact that they are in the midst of a four-game losing streak.

Coach Juan Antonio Pizzi will also be without the services of Diego Alves, Philippe Senderos and Victor Ruiz. Captain Ricardo Costa is back in training after an ankle injury but it remains to be seen whether he will be fit for the match.

While a goal-scorer in the first leg, Stocker (adductor) will not feature in the second leg and he will be joined on the sidelines by Philipp Degen (calf), while Marek Suchy is suspended.

***

Juventus welcome Lyon to Turin confident of maintaining the strong run of form on home soil which has seen them win all 16 of their Serie A fixtures at the venue this season.

A slender 1-0 lead means that Lyon are still very much in the tie. However, the French outfit have a number of injury absentees. Clement Grenier, Gueida Fofana (both groin), Yoann Gourcuff (ankle), Mouhamadou Dabo (hamstring) and Miguel Lopes (leg) are all out of the encounter.

Conversely, Juventus are boosted by the return of Arturo Vidal, Carlos Tevez and Angelo Ogbonna, but Andrea Barzagli (calf) is sidelined.

***

Having claimed a 1-0 first-leg advantage over AZ Alkmaar away from home, Benfica are within touching distance of a third semi-final appearance in four years.

The history and form books aren't in AZ's favour either, with Jorge Jesus' Benfica outfit having not lost any of their last 11 European clashes on home soil, while their Dutch visitors have only won one of their last seven matches in all competitions.

Dirk Marcellis (knee) misses out for AZ, while Enzo Perez returns for Benfica. However, Nicolas Gaitan and Maximiliano Pereira are non-starters due to suspension.

***

In the night's final clash, Sevilla will be backing themselves to overcome a 1-0 first leg deficit against Porto.

Unai Emery's side have won five of their last six games at Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán and having climbed to fifth in the La Liga standings after a weekend victory, los Rojiblancos will be on a high.

Eliaquim Mangala's goal gave Porto the win at Estadio do Dragao, but the Portuguese outfit were dealt a blow when midfielder Fernando was sent off late on after picking up two yellow cards and as a result will miss the return fixture. Striker Jackson Martinez is also suspended.

Daniel Carrico is Sevilla's only injury concern, with the defender struggling to shrug off a muscle problem.

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Juventus host Lyon with 1-0 lead

Lyon have a tough task ahead of them as they aim to overturn
a 1-0 deficit to Juventus in the Europa League.

Apr 10, 2014

https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/video/juventus-host-lyon-1-0-062602320.html

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Juventus News – Europa League Updates

Apr 10, 2014

Time for the Two Faces of Fabio to meet once more!

Fresh from dispatching Livorno 2-0 on Monday evening, Juventus now turn their collective attention to Lyon and the Europa League, the dream of playing the final in Turin ever closer to becoming a reality.

Enjoy it while it lasts, Mr. Grosso.

The Livorno match was encouraging for several reasons, chief among them the return of Fernando “Danny Zuko” Llorente to Juve’s scoresheet. Sporting a clean-shaven look with slicked-up hair straight out of a touring production of Grease, the once and future Lion King livened up a wishy-washy first half with an expertly placed strike and a seeing-eye header (and I swear that first goal made Andrea Agnelli instantly grow a beard). New looks, old skills—beautiful.

Otherwise, Juve mastered the match in pretty much the exact way we expected them to: casually, untroubled, a bit distracted at times, but mostly business as usual. After Fernando’s brace, Juve intermittently threatened to add more goals, but in general they played it Italian style, managing the remainder of the 90 minutes with relative ease.

Now Lyon arrive at Juventus Stadium on Thursday desperate to make up a one-goal aggregate difference, thanks to the away goal scored by Leo Bonucci in France. It is not only imperative for Juve to avoid conceding but also to attack and control the ball. As we saw in the first leg, Lyon will be less threatening offensively if they have to worry about the Bianconeri running up the score.

Playing at home with the pressure almost entirely on their opponents, Juve will hopefully avoid making things interesting and close out another two-legged affair on their road to European redemption.

No sleep ’til the semifinals, ragazzi!

Europa Updates: Vidal Doubtful, Tevez & Osvaldo Start

Antonio Conte will field a strong lineup to seal passage to the Europa League semifinals, though due to ongoing health concerns and squad rotation, it may be a few players short of Classic Juve 2014.

Andrea Barzagli was not called up for this one, presumably as a precaution as he nears full recovery. Angelo Ogbonna was included but is probably not fit to start, which means the officially overworked trio of Martin Caceres, Leo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini will once again shield Gigi Buffon.

On the wings, Kwadwo Asamoah should start on the left flank, as Federico Peluso is either not fully fit or not fully trusted in a match as important as this one; although to be fair, Conte is probably trying to keep his squad rotation to a minimum, since it looks like Mauricio Isla will spell Stephan Lichtsteiner on the right flank. Expect a second-half injection of Swiss energy, though it’s always bittersweet not to see Stephan mixing it up right from kickoff.

Aside from Fernando Llorente’s heroics, the other highlight of the Livorno was Lichtsteiner’s running war of words with the officials, Livorno players and seemingly anyone who will listen. Stephan was in rare form on Monday; I hope that when he retires, some enterprising Swiss casting agent will land him a role in a tough-talking detective show. Here’s the tagline for The Swiss Express: “Sometimes, it’s difficult to stay neutral.” But I digress.

Regarding central midfield, we were all set to trumpet the return of Arturo Vidal from one-game suspensions in both the Europa League and Serie A, but apparently he’s picked up a knock to his knee and will probably start on the bench. You know what that means: Paul Pogba, Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio will play together for the third straight match. Nice for continuity, not so much for rest.

Compared to defense and midfield, Conte has a relative cornucopia of options in attack. At the moment, he’s leaning towards an all-Argentine strike force of Carlos Tevez and Dani Osvaldo, though we can expect Sebastian Giovinco, Mirko Vucinic and Llorente to appear early (for Conte) if the latter continues his recent underwhelming form. Here’s hoping Osvaldo is more Jack Sparrow, less regular Johnny Depp out there.

A match like this is deceptively dangerous. Juve’s mission is so straightforward and the venue so comforting that they could easily fall prey to the kind of casual approach that popped up during stretches of the Livorno match. A missed shot here, a few missed connections there, and Lyon could make the Bianconeri pay.

The good news is that Antonio Conte is undoubtedly aware of the perils of Thursday’s match and has the lungs to scream away any perceived lapse in concentration and quality. And again, we can’t overstate the motivation of playing the EL final at Juventus Stadium.

When we started the Europa League, I may have said something to the effect that since the final’s in Turin, Juve might as well be the ones to play in it.

I’d like to revise that: Juve must be the ones to play it — and win it.

FINO ALLA FINE, FORZA JUVE!!!


Spanish Officials for Lyon Clash

Juve’s Europa League adventure has seen an Epcot Center’s worth of different national refereeing contingents holding the whistle. So far, all of them have acquitted themselves with aplomb — and more importantly, very few incidents.

No pressure, Spain!

Alberto Undiano Mallenco of Pamplona (the man must know how to run!) takes over for Lyon’s visit to Turin on Thursday evening.

According to the Mothership, Mallenco is no stranger to our heroes, as he has presided over two Bianconeri Champions League dates in the recent past: Juve’s inspiring 3-0 away win over Celtic last season, and a 2-2 draw with Chelsea in 2009′s round of 16.

Mallenco’s linesmen Cabanero Martinez and Yuste Jimenez, while the goal-line officials will be Teixeira Vitienes and Estrada Fernandez. The fourth official will be Fernandez Miranda, who hopefully holds no hard feelings toward Fernando Llorente for either leaving Bilbao or shaving his beard.

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Conte to shift Juve midfield

Apr 10, 2014

Sebastian Giovinco and Mirko Vucinic compete for one spot in attack at Lyon, as Juventus prepare to rest one of Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba.

The Bianconeri tonight host the Ligue 1 outfit in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final, with a 1-0 advantage from last week’s first leg.

Antonio Conte is speculated as set to pick a first-choice defence available to him, with Martin Caceres, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini expected to start.

Midfield has conflicting reports on Vidal’s selection. The giornalaccio rosa dello Sport believe he will be rested due to a slight knee issue, but Tuttosport see him as a likely starter alongside Claudio Marchisio in the centre, with one of Pirlo and Pogba fighting for the remaining spot.

The wings are expected to be covered by Mauricio Isla and Federico Peluso, whilst Carlos Tevez is set to be supported in attack by Giovinco or Vucinic, although Dani Osvaldo is seen as a third option in contention for that place.


Probable Juventus XI to play Lyon: Buffon; Caceres, Bonucci, Chiellini; Isla, Pogba, Marchisio, Vidal, Peluso; Tevez, Osvaldo

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Juventus-Olympique Lyonnais Betting Preview: Back the tournament
favourites to power their way into the last four

Antonio Conte's men have one foot in the semi-finals and our tipster is backing
the Serie A side to record a comfortable win against Remi Garde's men on Thursday evening.

Apr 10, 2014

Europa League favourites Juventus took a significant step towards the semi-finals of the competition with a battling 1-0 victory over Olympique Lyonnais last week and Antonio Conte's men can secure their place in the last four by seeing off Remi Garde's side in Thursday's return leg in Turin.

Juventus are red-hot favourites to ensure their progress to the semi-finals with victory, with bet365 offering just 1/3 (1.34) on a home win for Conte's charges while Lyon can be backed at a chunky 9/1 (10.0) to claim victory with the same firm.

A draw, of course, would be enough to seal Juve'splace in the next round too and such an outcome can be backed at 4/1 (5.0) with bet365 ahead of Thursday's second leg.

It took a late strike from Leonardo Bonucci to put Juventus firmly in the driving seat in the first leg and Conte will be keen to see his side make the tie safe early on when on home turf.

The Bianconeri have been imperious in Turin so far this term, winning all 16 of their home matches in Serie A and scoring an impressive 42 goals with just nine conceded.

Furthermore, it is worth noting that Conte's side have led by the interval in no fewer than 14 of their league fixtures in Turin this term.

With that in mind, the 4/5 (1.80) quote from bet365 for Juventus to lead at both half-time and full-time looks to be supremely generous and should be snapped up accordingly by punters ahead of Thursday's tussle.

Garde's side do not come into this tie in good form, having lost four of their last six fixtures and they are likely to be outclassed by the hosts here.

The 10/11 (1.91) quote for Juventus (-1) in the handicap market is tempting, but punters should note that the selection would have landed in just one of the last nine matches for the hosts.

Therefore, punters are advised to play safe and snap up the 4/5 (1.80) quote on offer from bet365 for Juventus to lead at both half-time and full-time on Thursday.

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Ravanelli: Juventus must seize
'once in a lifetime' opportunity

The former Bianconeri striker is eager to see Antonio Conte's side lift the Europa League
on home soil but has warned of the quality possessed by Olympique Lyonnais.

Apr 10, 2014

EXCLUSIVE
By Romeo Agresti

Former Juventus striker Fabrizio Ravanelli has urged Antonio Conte's side to take their "once in a lifetime" chance of winning the Europa League on home soil.

The Bianconeri stand on the brink of the semi-finals of the competition after winning the first leg of their last-eight tie with Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 in France last week.

The ex-Italy star has urged his old club to seal a European triumph this season - particularly with the final to be played in Turin.

"Juventus have the once in a lifetime chance of winning a European Cup in their own stadium," he told Goal.

"I know Conte, he'll be able to keep pressure on the players. If they keep the right pace and concentration, they'll easily progress. They mustn't repeat the first half they played at the Gerland."

Ravanelli has first-hand of experience of Lyon, having beaten them while Ajaccio coach earlier this season, and believes Remi Garde's side will prove a match for the Italian champions on Thursday.

"OL are an interesting team, with some good individuals like Alexandre Lacazette and Bafetimbi Gomis, while I don't rate Maxime Gonalons the top player others say he is.

"My Ajaccio beat Lyon thanks to counterattacking; Juventus should be careful, because they have a very compact midfield line, able to destroy the opponent's game."

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Tacchinardi on Juve

Apr 10, 2014

Alessio Tacchinardi has given his thoughts on Juventus’ Europa League credentials ahead of their quarter-final second leg with Lyon tonight.

The Old Lady take a 1-0 aggregate lead into the match but the former Bianconeri midfielder says the team should not take anything for granted.

“After 11 years Juventus have the chance to return to a European semi-final,” Tacchinardi told Radio Mana Mana Sport.

“For me, this is an important match despite the fact that some have a bad attitude towards the Europa League.

“Winning a trophy would be important and especially crucial if they want to aim for the Champions League next year.

“Juventus should follow the example of Atletico Madrid, who took a similar journey and now they are in the Champions League semi-finals.

“It has already been too long since Juve last won in Europe.”

The 38-year-old then states his belief that Carlos Tevez should start tonight’s game.

“I would play Tevez because it would send a strong message to the team. This is a match that should not be underestimated.

“There will be time for the team to recover as there is not another game for them until Monday evening.”

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Llorente: Great opportunity

Apr 10, 2014

Juventus striker Fernando Llorente says his side’s Europa League campaign is a golden opportunity to win a European trophy for the club.

The Spaniard is grateful for having had the chance to play for the Old Lady, describing his move to Turin as a dream come true.

“The Europa League, with the final being played in our stadium, gives us great motivation,” Llorente said to AS.

“That fact alone pushes us to try to win a European trophy. It’s a very good opportunity.

“Of course we were thinking about the Champions League but now we are in the Europa League and we are close to reaching the final.

“It’s an incredible opportunity to get ourselves a European title, something that has been missing from this club for a long time.

“I have been lucky to be able to come here to Juve. It was a dream come true and things are going well.

“I just need to keep working hard during the season’s finale, given that we are trying to win two trophies. That’s our target.”

The 29-year-old did however admit that it would be very difficult for him to secure a place in his country’s World Cup squad.

“For me it won’t be easy to go to the World Cup. Getting to play for the national team is very difficult, but none of us lose all hope that it will happen.”

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Every Italian should support Juventus - Prandelli

The Azzurri boss wants the entire nation to get behind the Bianconeri
in Europe in a bid to endorse a sense of patriotism ahead of the World Cup.

Apr 10, 2014

Cesare Prandelli believes that everyone in Italy should support Juventus for the course of their Europa League run.

The Bianconeri stand on the brink of the semi-finals of the competition after winning the first-leg of their last-eight tie against Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 last week.

Giorgio Chiellini claimed that the whole country wants to see his side fail, but the Azzurri coach believes supporting Antonio Conte's men will help the fortunes of the national team.

"When it comes to understanding fans, we need to improve and we all have to grow," he told Tuttosport.

"I would like all Italians to be closer to the national team and not just for a brief period during the World Cup or the European Championship.

"As a country, we need to move on from the point of view of cheering on individual clubs. As Italians, we should be always be on the side of any team involved in Europe.

"We are compatriots and are challenging foreign teams. This should come before any parochialism.

"It would be nice if all Italians cheer on Juve against Lyon with the hope that Juve win the Europa League.

"We must be the biggest fans of our teams when they are abroad."

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

We will honour EL - Marotta

Apr 10, 2014

Juve are top of Serie A and won the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final 1-0 away to Lyon. The second leg kicks off tonight at 21.05 CET.

“Both tournaments are priorities for us, as when Juventus enter a competition they have to go all the way. We will honour this tournament in the best way possible, especially as the Final will be in our own stadium.

“In Serie A we are in a head-to-head with Roma now and will push all the way to win. We have to be proud of what we’re achieving this season.”

Marotta was asked about Atletico Madrid’s victory over Barcelona this week, knocking them out of the Champions League quarter-finals.

“Without doubt they prove that football is not just the value of the players, but also the winning mentality and motivation. Atletico showed against Barcelona how motivated they were and always came first to every ball.

“Barcelona’s performance suggested an era is coming to an end and they need to renew. There are always cycles in football and they keep coming round.”

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Line-ups: Juventus-Lyon

Apr 10, 2014

Carlos Tevez and Mirko Vucinic lead the way as Juventus host Lyon in the Europa League quarter-final.

The first leg saw the Bianconeri win 1-0 in France and this decider kicks off at the Juventus Stadium at 21.05 CET.

Arturo Vidal returns from suspension in both Serie A and Europe to bolster the midfield, while Paul Pogba is rested in favour of Claudio Marchisio.

Andrea Barzagli and Angelo Ogbonna are still unavailable, so Martin Caceres again partners Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini.

It was Bonucci who scored the decisive goal at the Stade de Gerland last week.

Choosing Vucinic in attack suggests Antonio Conte has lost faith in Daniel Osvaldo, so his loan from Southampton will not be made permanent at the end of the season.

Tevez is hoping to break his extraordinary goal drought, as he has not scored in European competition since 2009, when he was wearing the Manchester United jersey.

Lyon need to score twice in order to go through to the semi-final, having lost 1-0 on home turf.

The injury crisis continues with Mouhamadou Dabo, Milan Bisevac, Gueida Fofana, Clement Grenier, Miguel Lopes and ex-Milan midfielder Yoann Gourcuff are sidelined.

Once again, Lyon start with Jimmy Briand and Alexandre Lacazette in attack, leaving Bafetimbi Gomis on the bench.


JUVENTUS: Buffon; Caceres, Bonucci, Chiellini; Isla, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, Asamoah; Tevez, Vucinic

Juventus bench: Storari, Ogbonna, Lichtsteiner, Pogba, Giovinco, Llorente, Osvaldo


LYON: Lopes; Tolisso, B Kone, Umtiti, Bedimo; Malbranque, Ferri, Gonalons, Mvuemba; Briand, Lacazette

Lyon bench: Vercoutre, Zeffane, Bisevac, Danic, Fekir, Gomis, Njie

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS - OLYMPIQUE LYON

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

HT 1-1: Juve deal with Lyon fightback

Apr 10, 2014

Andrea Pirlo’s splendid free kick was wiped out by Jimmy Briand, as Juventus-Lyon is 1-1 at half-time, 2-1 on aggregate.

The Bianconeri had won the first leg 1-0 in France with a late Leonardo Bonucci goal, so had the upper hand in this Europa League quarter-final. Arturo Vidal returned from suspension, so Paul Pogba was rested with Andrea Barzagli sidelined. Lyon missed Mouhamadou Dabo, Milan Bisevac, Gueida Fofana, Clement Grenier, Miguel Lopes and ex-Milan midfielder Yoann Gourcuff.

Within the opening three minutes Carlos Tevez, who hasn’t scored in Europe since 2009, unleashed a snapshot that skimmed the crossbar.

Tevez went on a mazy run and was tripped for a free kick right on the edge of the penalty area. It was perfect Andrea Pirlo territory and he did not disappoint, curling it over the wall into the near top corner. Another of Pirlo’s set plays had sent Juve through to the quarter-finals against Fiorentina. This was his sixth goal of the season in all competition, all of them direct free kicks.

Alexandre Lacazette had penalty appeals when his shot was charged down by Bonucci’s hand, but the referee waved play on as it was very close range.

Lyon equalised and got a precious away goal, as from a corner a wayward Arnold Mvuemba cross came to Jimmy Briand, whose header bounced on the wet turf and rebounded off the inside of the far post.

The French side were fired up by that equaliser and tested Gigi Buffon with a Maxime Gonalons strike from the edge of the box. Lyon continued to have the better of the play for the rest of the first half, as that fiery Juve start dissipated.

There was a well-worked move on the stroke of half-time, but Tevez fell too easily in the box when he tried to turn on a Marchisio pass.


Juventus 1-1 Lyon (2-1 agg, Half-Time)

Scorers: Pirlo 4 (J), Briand 18 (L)

JUVENTUS: Buffon; Caceres, Bonucci, Chiellini; Isla, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, Asamoah; Tevez, Vucinic

LYON: Lopes; Tolisso, B Kone, Umtiti, Bedimo; Malbranque, Ferri, Gonalons, Mvuemba; Briand, Lacazette

Ref: Mallenco (SPA)

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS 2 - 1 OLYMPIQUE LYON
(Juventus win 3-1 on aggregate)

Andrea Pirlo (4′)

Jimmy Briand (18′)

Samuel Umtiti (68′O.G.)

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
Attendance:‬ 40710‎

Juventus 2-1 Olympique Lyonnais (Agg 3-1): Pirlo &
Marchisio on target as Bianconeri seal semi-final spot

The veteran playmaker opened the scoring just four minutes in with a sublime free kick
and his midfielder partner clinched victory for Antonio Conte's men with a deflected strike.

Apr 10, 2014

Juventus kept their dreams of a domestic and European double alive with a 2-1 Europa League victory over Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday.

After a 1-0 victory in the quarter-final first leg in France last week, the Turin giants secured a 3-1 aggregate victory to progress to the last four of a European competition for the first time since the 2002-03 campaign.

Inspirational midfielder Andrea Pirlo struck the opening goal after four minutes with an exquisite free kick from just outside the penalty area, but the visitors levelled when Jimmy Briand placed a header beyond Gianluigi Buffon before the close of an exciting opening quarter.

The Italian champions were not to be denied, though, and sealed victory on the night thanks to a long-range Claudio Marchisio strike that took a wicked deflection off Samuel Umtiti and gave goalkeeper Anthony Lopes no chance.

The victory extends Juve's unbeaten home record to over a calendar year, with their last defeat at the Juventus Stadium against Bayern Munich in the Champions League last April.

Leading scorer Carlos Tevez, who has been nursing a thigh injury but was passed fit, missed a third-minute effort as Antonio Conte's side wasted no time in stamping their authority on the game.

Then just a minute later Corentin Tolisso ended a typical bustling run from the Argentine striker on the edge of the penalty area and the midfielder was punished when Pirlo fired a trademark free kick into the back of the net.

Juve's lead only lasted quarter of an hour, though, as Briand caught them out when he levelled with a close-range header.

From a quickly taken corner Arnold Mvuemba lifted a high ball to the back post, where Briand shrugged off a challenge from Marchisio and placed his header out of Buffon's reach.

Lyon were slowly getting into their stride and created the next opening just before the half-hour mark, with Maxime Gonalons meeting a cross on the edge of the area but Buffon parried his low strike away to safety.

A lacklustre start to the second half saw the hosts control possession without threatening the Lyon goal, in fact they had to wait until just after the hour mark to test Lopes again.

The evergreen Pirlo whipped a cross into the penalty area for Tevez, who flicked a header into the top corner but saw his effort ruled out for offside.

Mvuemba tested Buffon with a free kick in the 67th minute, but Lyon otherwise struggled to fashion goalscoring opportunities in the second half and a minute later they fell further behind in the tie.

Marchisio was given far too much room 25 metres from goal by the Lyon defence, and he made them pay by unleashing a strike towards goal that Lopes looked to have covered until the ball struck Umtiti and flew in the opposite direction and into the net.

Substitute Sebastian Giovinco wasted an opportunity to extend the hosts' lead further, but that never looked like being costly.

Conte's men now progress to the semi-finals and continue to dream of reaching the final, which will be held in their own stadium next month.

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS 2 - 1 OLYMPIQUE LYON
(Juventus win 3-1 on aggregate)

Andrea Pirlo (4′)

Jimmy Briand (18′)

Samuel Umtiti (68′O.G.)

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
Attendance:‬ 40710‎

EL: Juve see off Lyon

Apr 10, 2014

Andrea Pirlo’s free kick and a deflected Claudio Marchisio strike beat Lyon 2-1 and sent Juventus to the Europa League semi-final.

The Bianconeri had won the first leg 1-0 in France with a late Leonardo Bonucci goal, so had the upper hand in this Europa League quarter-final. Arturo Vidal returned from suspension, so Paul Pogba was rested with Andrea Barzagli sidelined. Lyon missed Mouhamadou Dabo, Milan Bisevac, Gueida Fofana, Clement Grenier, Miguel Lopes and ex-Milan midfielder Yoann Gourcuff.

Within the opening three minutes Carlos Tevez, who hasn’t scored in Europe since 2009, unleashed a snapshot that skimmed the crossbar.

Tevez went on a mazy run and was tripped for a free kick right on the edge of the penalty area. It was perfect Andrea Pirlo territory and he did not disappoint, curling it over the wall into the near top corner. Another of Pirlo’s set plays had sent Juve through to the quarter-finals against Fiorentina. This was his sixth goal of the season in all competition, all of them direct free kicks.

Alexandre Lacazette had penalty appeals when his shot was charged down by Bonucci’s hand, but the referee waved play on as it was very close range.

Lyon equalised and got a precious away goal, as from a corner a wayward Arnold Mvuemba cross came to Jimmy Briand, whose header bounced on the wet turf and rebounded off the inside of the far post.

The French side were fired up by that equaliser and tested Gigi Buffon with a Maxime Gonalons strike from the edge of the box. Lyon continued to have the better of the play for the rest of the first half, as that fiery Juve start dissipated. Tevez also protested, as he tried to run between two defenders and appeared to trip over Bakary Kone’s leg.

There was a well-worked move on the stroke of half-time, but Tevez fell too easily in the box when he tried to turn on a Marchisio pass.

After the restart a Vucinic cross for Tevez was intercepted by Bakary Kone, then Kwadwo Asamoah’s cross just needed to be tapped in, but Samuel Umtiti proved decisive to stop it coming through to Tevez.

Moments later, Asamoah’s shot was smothered by Anthony Lopes, who then came out to grab the ball as Vidal chested down a Marchisio pass over the top.

Tevez thought he had finally broken his European goal drought with a sensational glancing header from a corner, but the offside flag was raised.

Tevez gave the ball away in midfield to spark a Lyon counter and from that move Buffon had to punch away a Mvuemba free kick.

However, from the Lyon corner it was Juve’s turn to counter and they made it count, as Marchisio’s strike took a decisive deflection off Umtiti’s thigh to leave his goalkeeper stranded. This was ‘Principino’s first Europa League goal.

Another Tevez effort was charged down in the box and Buffon was right behind a strike from substitute Bafetimbi Gomis. Sebastian Giovinco went on a rapid counter from a Lyon corner and was barged into the advertising boards by Umtiti, who was booked for his trouble. The Atomic Ant tried to get on the end of an over-hit Marchisio assist, but could only balloon over the bar.

The Bianconeri become the first Italian side to reach a European semi-final since Fiorentina in 2007-08.


Juventus 2-1 Lyon (3-1 agg)

Scorers: Pirlo 4 (J), Briand 18 (L), Marchisio 68 (J)

Juventus: Buffon; Caceres, Bonucci, Chiellini; Isla, Vidal (Pogba 75), Pirlo, Marchisio, Asamoah; Tevez (Giovinco 78), Vucinic (Llorente 60)

Lyon: Lopes; Tolisso, B Kone, Umtiti, Bedimo; Malbranque (Danic 75), Ferri, Gonalons, Mvuemba; Briand (Njie 70), Lacazette (Gomis 70)

Ref: Mallenco (SPA)

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS 2 - 1 OLYMPIQUE LYON
(Juventus win 3-1 on aggregate)

Andrea Pirlo (4′)

Jimmy Briand (18′)

Samuel Umtiti (68′O.G.)

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
Attendance:‬ 40710‎

Initial reaction and random observations

Apr 10, 2014

When you get a piece of magic four minutes into a game, you think it's going to be your night. That's exactly what Juventus got on Thursday, courtesy of a pretty familiar source from an even more familiar dead-ball situation. Go ahead and look at the gif below, it won't hurt you to do so.

That thing of beauty you see above was the reason Juve were soaring high after just four minutes Thursday night. Well, one of the reasons why, at least. Juve came out like gangbusters, took the lead, and appeared to be storming into the semifinals rather than limping to the quarterfinals like was the case in Florence a few weeks back.

But because Lyon grabbed an equalizer a mere 13 minutes after Pirlo's latest dead-ball masterpiece, things weren't so easy. In fact, I feel safe in saying that outside of the first 15 minutes, Lyon was certainly the better side. And if it wasn't for that away Juve had in their back pocket — more on that later — things could have been much more difficult with things level on aggregate instead of having a 2-1 lead.

JuventusFC ✔ @juventusfcen
.@Asabob20: "Their goal made it a different game, but we did well to keep the ball. We can't always go at full pelt when we play so often."

Ah, the beauty of getting a goal in the first game away from home rather than at Juventus Stadium.

And once Claudio Marchisio's long-range shot deflected off a Lyon player and into the back of the net, Juve's place in the Europa League's final four was just about wrapped up. Just two games separate Antonio Conte's squad from a European title game being a home game. It's a possibility more than ever before now.

JuventusFC ✔ @juventusfcen
.@chiellini: "Playing the #UEL final at home might not ever happen again in the club's history. We must seize the occasion." #JuveOL

The man does have a point, you guys. Regardless of how you feel about the Europa League, it's a pretty unique opportunity that not many clubs will ever get to play for. Would I like to be in the semifinals of the Champions League instead of the Europa League right now? Well, yeah. That's pretty obvious. But having the chance to play for a Europa League trophy in front of the Juventus Stadium faithful is a pretty unique alternative.


Random thoughts and observations

• Andrea Pirlo is good at free kicks. You heard it here first.

• Gianluigi Buffon is good at goalkeeping. You heard it here first.

• Can you imagine how much different this game could have been if Leonardo Bonucci didn't score in the dying minutes in France? That away goal from Lyon would have been even more of a possible possible reason for Europa League derailment. But because of Bonucci's goal last Thursday night, we're here thinking about Juventus in the Europa League semifinals, not being dumped out of another European competition.

• The announcers on Fox Sports 1 here in the states were getting some good use out of the "Carlos Tévez hasn't scored a goal in Europe in four years" narrative. And while it's true that Carlitos hasn't scored a goal in a European competition in quite awhile, that doesn't mean he's playing poorly at all. He was pretty close to grabbing a goal on more than one occasion Thursday night. You get the feeling that long-awaited goal will come. Say, the Europa League final sounds like a good time to break the duck...

• There was a Seinfeld episode where Jerry was dubbed 'Even Steven' by Kramer because when something bad happens, a good thing ends up being right around the corner. I think that's how I will think of Claudio Marchisio's performance against Lyon. His sub-par defending allowed Lyon to tie the game at 1-1 in the first half, but his second-half goal was what allowed Juve to breathe a little easier and win both legs. See? Claudio Marchisio, also known as Mr. Even Steven.

• It seems like it's becoming redundant at this point, but Martin Cáceres is really, really good at what he does for a living.

• Juventus had a lead in the 80th minute and Antonio Conte didn't throw on Simone Padoin. Somebody help because this does not compute.

• Friendly reminder: Europa League semifinal draw tomorrow afternoon at 12:00 CET. In case you're wondering and feel like laughing at yours truly, that's at 3 a.m. here on the West Coast. Dammit.

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS 2 - 1 OLYMPIQUE LYON
(Juventus win 3-1 on aggregate)

Andrea Pirlo (4′)

Jimmy Briand (18′)

Samuel Umtiti (68′O.G.)

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
Attendance:‬ 40710‎

Juventus Good Enough to Get Past
Lyon in the Europa League

Apr 10, 2014

The fans were loud all night. They were chanting, their voices swaying in sing-song, while Juventus kept up the fight against Lyon.

It was a 2-1 win for Juve in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final, 3-1 on aggregate. A game of few scares, a little inspiration and some luck.

Juventus have never lost to French opponents, and thus they have not yet lost in this competition. They have not lost at home this entire season. This is looking more and more like their tournament, the final of which will be played in Torino.

leonera19 @leonera19
Le tifo de la Juve. #JuveOL

They started the game well enough, Andrea Pirlo scoring off a free-kick after just four minutes. It was wonderful, and it was the 12th goal off a free-kick in just three seasons with Juve.

Pirlo had scored eight such goals in 10 years with Milan.

He doesn’t smack it, and he doesn’t take a huge wind-up. It’s a three-step process: a couple of steps and the kick itself, the ball struck with spin and just enough power.

But then Juventus stopped. They didn’t surge forward or kill the game. It is something of a trend for them in 2014: Juventus often leave the game in doubt, even if the result never is.

Kwadwo Asamoah told Sky Sport Italia after the game (h/t Football Italia) that "physically we’re not in great shape, so we had to make the ball work for us."

He continued: "We are playing every three or four days, so it’s not easy."

Juventus have lost just twice over the past four months, but they have won many of those games by a single goal. And that’s the point: Juventus don’t have to play well to win.

The threat was still real. Jimmy Briand scored off a header in the 18th minute, and it was not particularly pretty. The central defenders were lost, and Briand nicked the ball just beyond the reach of Gianluigi Buffon.

And Buffon made sure Juventus would not concede another. He held his ground, diving to save a rasping shot from midfielder Maxime Gonalons.

Buffon later parried away a free-kick, giving Juventus the confidence to score a couple of minutes later. He does not make the most saves of all goalkeepers, and he does not even keep the most clean sheets, but he is always there.

Buffon and Pirlo are the protagonists of this team. Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez have scored big goals, too—but Buffon and Pirlo are the mainstays. They have shown up in all competitions.

Even the little things: Pirlo faking one way and going another, taking the threat right out of danger, playing a delicate pass out to an open teammate. He also made five interceptions—a game-high, per WhoScored.com.

David Amoyal @DavidAmoyal
Feels like Pirlo's free kicks are what kept Juve from having a very rough second part of season

Juventus started the second half as they did the first. Tevez missed a chance to end the game when the ball skipped past him in the box.

Then Lyon mounted one last challenge. They took back the ball and attacked in waves. But the Bianconeri did not falter. They have a great spine consisting of Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Martin Caceres, and they made the important clearances.

JuventusFC ✔ @juventusfcen
.@chiellini: "Playing the #UEL final at home might not ever happen again in the club's history. We must seize the occasion." #JuveOL

On the other side of the field, Juventus only put two shots on target. The second goal they scored came off a deflection. Mirko Vucinic was totally ineffective. He started in place of Llorente, but he misplaced 46 percent of his passes, per WhoScored.com. He doesn't get much time anywhere, and he doesn't particularly use it well.

Tevez also scored—until his header was ruled offside. He still has not found a goal in Europe since 2009, back when he scored for Manchester United against Porto. But it is not a curse that seems to affect Juventus. Finally, they will play in a European semi-final for the first time since 2003.

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS 2 - 1 OLYMPIQUE LYON
(Juventus win 3-1 on aggregate)

Andrea Pirlo (4′)

Jimmy Briand (18′)

Samuel Umtiti (68′O.G.)

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
Attendance:‬ 40710‎

Bianconeri Into Final Four

Apr 10, 2014

Juventus defeated Lyon 2-1 at the Juventus Stadium in the Europa League Second-Leg Quarter Final, a result which meant the Italian side go into the semi-finals thanks to a 3-1 aggregate scoreline.

Andrea Pirlo’s free kick opened the scoring for Juventus early in the match, before Jimmy Briand levelled for Lyon, but Claudio Marchisio’s deflected effort separated the teams on the night.

The game started with a bang with Carlos Tevez curling just over Anthony Lopes’ crossbar from 25 yards after easily sidestepping Bakary Kone.

The frantic start to the match soon had its first goal in the opening five minutes. Andrea Pirlo doing what he does best, placing a free kick given away by Corentin Tolisso into the top left corner with ease, leaving Lopes rooted to the spot.

Lyon could have had a penalty not long after the opener as Tolisso struck a shot which appeared to strike Leonardo Bonucci on the arm but the referee waved away the protests.

They would get their away goal though when a short corner ended with a miss-hit cross to the back post where Jimmy Briand would head back across goal and, although Gianluigi Buffon got a hand to it, the ball hit the inside of the post and went in.

The game then settled in a midfield battle with both teams opting to play the ball long and to the wings but the final crucial pass wasn’t to either side’s usual standard.

Just before the half an hour mark Maxime Gonalons met a strike brilliantly well from outside the area but Buffon matched the shot well with a good save as the Bianconeri were able to deal with the danger.

Juventus couldn’t seem to find a way past the well structured Lyon midfield as the first half soon petered out. This was due to the sheer fact that both sides, although having a fair bit of the ball, were failing to do anything effective with it.

The second half mirrored the final quarter of the first half as balls from Mirko Vucinic and Mauricio Isla were well intercepted by the Lyon backline with the Argentinean Tevez ready to pounce.

A cross from Kwadwo Asamoah took a slight deflection off of Samuel Umtiti and goalkeeper Lopes did very well to get fingertips to the cross to deny Tevez who was waiting for an easy tap in to end his European goal drought.

The best chance Lyon could muster in the opening quarter of the second half was a wild shot from Alexandre Lacazette which ended up going off for a throw in.

The goal drought of Tevez looked to be over following the Lacazette effort, when he met a Pirlo cross brilliantly with a glancing header but was correctly ruled out for offside.

The next five minutes would prove as frantic as the opening of the match with Arnold Mvuemba hitting a sweet free kick which was well saved by Buffon.

The resulting two corners were cleared by Juventus and the Bianconeri countered with power and Claudio Marchisio got a long range strike away which took a massive deflection of Umtiti before nestling in the goal to restore the Juventus lead.

Substitute Bafetimbi Gomis tried to ignite a Lyon fight back with an optimistic strike that was easily saved by Buffon as the match entered the final ten minutes.

Lyon began to run out of ideas and time as Juventus started to control the game once more. Sebastian Giovinco taking an eternity to get a shot away inside the area which ended up flying over the bar. It would prove to be the final chance of the match.

Juventus will find out which team they will meet in the Europa League semi-finals on Friday April 11.

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS 2 - 1 OLYMPIQUE LYON
(Juventus win 3-1 on aggregate)

Andrea Pirlo (4′)

Jimmy Briand (18′)

Samuel Umtiti (68′O.G.)

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
Attendance:‬ 40710‎

Player Ratings

Goal was on hand to see Juventus march into the last four, with a phenomenal Andrea Pirlo
free-kick helping the hosts on their way to an unconvincing victory against Les Gones.

Apr 10, 2014

JUVENTUS

Gianluigi Buffon - Perhaps could have done better with Briand's goalscoring header, but the veteran made a couple of reasonable stops to beat away powerful strikes.

Martín Cáceres - The Uruguayan, aided by Isla, made it difficult for Bedimo and Mvuemba to enjoy themselves down the left hand side as they did in the first leg.

Leonardo Bonucci - Looked to have a mild injury complaint, but the central defender was willing to break out of the defensive line and supply Juventus' attack when Pirlo was marked.

Giorgio Chiellini - A solid performance from the Italy international, who used his power and physicality to barely give Briand a sniff throughout.

Mauricio Isla - The Chile international offered plenty of width and worked very hard defensively, but his touch and delivery let him down in advanced areas.

Claudio Marchisio - The box-to-box midfielder injected plenty of energy, with his long-range effort being fortunately deflected beyond Lopes via a deflection off Umtiti.

ANDREA PIRLO - The veteran midfielder curled in a delicious fourth minute free-kick, leaving Anthony Lopes like a statue. Calm and composed in possession, looking to kick-start Juve attacks whenever possible.

Arturo Vidal - Didn't manage to carve out any opportunities for himself, but tracked back well to fulfill his defensive responsibilities in the first half.

Kwadwo Asamoah - The Ghanaian wing-back was vibrant throughout, tracking back when needed, but also had the beating of young full-back Tolisso.

Mirko Vučinić - The Montenegrin fed Tevez with a couple of smart flicks, but was generally anonymous. Rightfully replaced by Llorente in the second half.

Carlos Tévez - The Argentine forward was a man on a mission for break his European goal drought, going on excellent driving runs with regularity. Unlucky to have an excellent header ruled out for offside.


Substitutions

Paul Pogba - The French midfielder didn't have a great deal to do, but held his position well and was a threat in Lyon's box from set pieces.

Sebastian Giovinco - The diminutive striker was a handful, using his speed to get beyond Umtiti on several occasions, but his shooting let him down.

Fernando Llorente - The Spaniard acted as a focal point for Juventus, knocking down several good balls for the likes of Tevez and Giovinco.

OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS

Anthony Lopes - The Portuguese goalkeeper made a couple of smart stops, but could do nothing to deny Pirlo's free-kick, nor Marchisio's deflected shot.

Corentin Tolisso - The young full-back was beaten by Asamoah several times early on, but did press forward positively and break to the byeline on occasion.

Baky Kone - Impressive aerially and made a number of important clearances to hook dangerous crosses away from the likes of Tevez.

Samuel Umtiti - Unfortunate to be the man whose block sent Marchisio's shot beyond Anthony Lopes, but the youngster was otherwise a solid physical presence.

H. Bedimo - Pressed forward whenever possible and tracked back excellent to deny Tevez on two occasions.

Steed Malbranque - An excellent showing from the experienced Frenchman, who pressed Pirlo well, as well as getting in between the lines effectively for his side.

Jordan Ferri - Bright in the first half, always looking to keep the ball moving and open up the pitch, but faded after the break.

Maxime Gonalons - Tried his luck on one occasion from range, forcing Buffon into a good save. Tenacious and battling midfield showing.

Arnold Mvuemba - Tested Buffon with a free-kick attempt, whipping in several good crosses, including the assist for Briand's header. Dangerous on his left foot.

Jimmy Briand - His goal gave Lyon hope, diverting a header onto the inside of the post, beating Buffon. Otherwise a fairly quiet showing.

Alexandre Lacazette - The prolific forward showed moments of brilliance, with nice skill to get beyond Chiellini in the second half. His shooting was very poor.


Substitutions

Bafetimbi Gomis - The physical striker didn't receive any service whatsoever, failing to have an impact on proceedings.

Clinton NJie - His pace and quick feet caused Asamoah and Chiellini a couple of problems down the right flank, winning a couple of corners for his side.

[Socrates 8541]

JUVENTUS 2 - 1 OLYMPIQUE LYON
(Juventus win 3-1 on aggregate)

Andrea Pirlo (4′)

Jimmy Briand (18′)

Samuel Umtiti (68′O.G.)

April 10, 2014 - 9:05 PM
Juventus Stadium — Turin
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
Attendance:‬ 40710‎

Marchisio: Juventus 'a little lucky' against Lyon

The Bianconeri needed a deflected goal from the Italy international
midfielder to belatedly break the resistance of the Ligue 1 outfit.

Apr 10, 2014

Claudio Marchisio admitted that Juventus had been "a little lucky" in their Europa League victory over Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday night.

A goal up from the first leg of their quarter-final tie at the Gerland, the Bianconeri looked poised to coast into the last four when Andrea Pirlo broke the deadlock after just four minutes of play in Turin with a trademark free kick.

However, Jimmy Briand dragged Lyon right back into it with his 18th-minute header and Juve needed a deflected effort from Marchisio midway through the second half to finally break their French foes' game resistance.

"We absolutely knew that it would not be easy to reach the semi-finals," the midfielder told Sky Sport Italia.

"We started very well. Then, however, we suffered a little setback when they equalised.

"It's clear that my goal was a little lucky, but now we will go forward and fight right until the end with our intent to complete our objectives."

Star striker Carlos Tevez once again failed to find the net for Juve in Europe this season, meaning it is still five years since the Argentine netted in continental competition.

However, Marchisio insisted that the Argentine, who had a goal disallowed for offside, had played his part in the Old Lady's progression to the semi-finals.

"The important thing is that the team wins," the Italy international mused. "In these cases, it's not necessary to focus on individuals.

"Carlos is a great champion who helps the team greatly even when he doesn't score. His presence this season has helped us to grow in so many ways."