JUVENTUS SEASON 2016-2017

Socrates · April 29, 2017

ATALANTA - JUVENTUS

2-2

Andrea Conti 45'

Leonardo Spinazzola (own goal) 50'

Dani Alves 83'

Remo Freuler 89'

MATCHDAY 34

Friday, April 28th, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Atleti Azzurri d'Italia Stadium, Bergamo
Referee: Marco Guida

Juventus commentator attacked

Afbeeldingsresultaat voor atalanta juventus 2-2 enrico zambruno

http://www.football-italia.net/101810/juventus-commentator-attacked

Apr 29, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

There was an ugly incident during last night’s 2-2 draw in Bergamo when the Juventus official commentator was attacked by an Atalanta fan.

Remo Freuler scored a late equaliser at the Stadio Azzurri d’Italia to peg the Serie A leaders back.

JTV viewers did not hear a description of that goal, as commentator Enrico Zambruno was accosted by an Atalanta supporter in the stands.

It’s reported Zambruno was pushed repeatedly by the fan, who was also shouting in an aggressive manner.

The commentator apologised to the viewers for not being able to describe the goal better and in so doing explained the circumstances.

http://www.goal.com/en/tables/serie-a/13?ICID=TP_TN_110

Socrates · April 29, 2017

ATALANTA - JUVENTUS

2-2

Andrea Conti 45'

Leonardo Spinazzola (own goal) 50'

Dani Alves 83'

Remo Freuler 89'

MATCHDAY 34

Friday, April 28th, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Atleti Azzurri d'Italia Stadium, Bergamo
Referee: Marco Guida

Allegri: Juve conceded on two technical errors

Manager bemoans dropped points with late equalizer

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http://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2017/4/29/15480672/allegri-juve-

conceded-on-two-technical-errors-juventus-atalanta-draw-recap

Apr 29, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Juventus looked like they had stolen all three points with a late goal from Dani Alves, but in very uncharacteristic manner, they allowed hosts Atalanta to equalize even later from a defensive mix-up to grab a share of the spoils.

After the game manager Massimiliano Allegri wasn’t in a very charitable mood about the Juve performance, but refused to blame the officials for the penalty the visitors weren’t given.

“I won’t speak about the [penalty] incident. We were in the lead with two minutes to go. The penalty is irrelevant, Juventus have to close out a match after turning it around.  

“Juventus never concede goals like today.”

With the first leg of the Champions League semi-final coming up, he referenced the draw as a wake-up call.

“We’ve played in two alternative phases, a victory over Roma but we need other points.

“We’re on an important journey, we want to close-out the League and a win tonight would have been important for the League. This match will serve to give us awareness against Monaco, a team which plays quickly, we’ll have to be good.

“We knew it wouldn’t be easy tonight, but we conceded on two technical errors. We need to be calm and not play the same way in Monaco, but even a point at this stage of the season is important.”

He made some tactical changes at the half after Juve were outplayed in the first half -

“In the first half I told Dybala to put himself in one position, but in the second half he did better, he had more freedom to move and more lines to pass to Higuain.

“What did I say at half-time? That we hadn’t won a single 50-50, Atalanta had won all of them.

“We had to raise our tempo, if you don’t win the 50-50s you won’t win.”

Allegri felt that a big opportunity to put the Scudetto race to bed was lost today -

"The League isn't over, it would have been if we'd won today. I won't comment on the incidents, we're not looking for excuses.

"The Scudetto is in our hands, we have to do more than them [Roma]. They can get 90 points, we need at least 91."

http://www.goal.com/en/tables/serie-a/13?ICID=TP_TN_110

Socrates · April 29, 2017

ATALANTA - JUVENTUS

2-2

Andrea Conti 45'

Leonardo Spinazzola (own goal) 50'

Dani Alves 83'

Remo Freuler 89'

MATCHDAY 34

Friday, April 28th, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Atleti Azzurri d'Italia Stadium, Bergamo
Referee: Marco Guida

Atalanta 2-2 Juventus Player Ratings

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http://www.juvefc.com/atlanta-2-2-juventus/

Apr 29, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Player Ratings

Buffon – Could do little for either goal, other than which made a couple of comfortable saves. 5.5

Bonucci – Hardly noticed him, his mind (and body) was elsewhere. 5.5

Chiellini – Getting back to his best, made some splendid tackles, yet lacked support when the home side flooded forward. 7

Sandro – Ineffective. Unable to penetrate and constantly stretched in the defensive phase. 5.5

Alves – Battling showing and took his goal superbly when pushed forward late on. 7

Khedira – Sloppy on several occasions and failed to capitalise on his handful of chances. 6

Pjanic – Out of sorts for much of the game, yet delivered a beautiful assist for Alves to put us ahead. 6

Cuadrado – as with all our wide players, he was out hustled. 5.5

Mandzukic – Achieved little, and was far less involved than usual. 5.5

Dybala – came close on a couple of occasions other than which worked himself into the ground seeking space and time which rarely came. 6

Higuain – Very well marshalled and kept to a series of snap shots, none of which hugely troubled the home keeper.

Not much to report from this outing, other than Gasperini’s troops performed heroics, and were well worth their creditable draw. I would very much like to see them in the Europa next season, which would be a brilliant achievement on such a small budget with a group of formerly unheralded players knitted together superbly, offering a welcome never say die approach.

We were sloppy in the first half, and only got going after the break. We then dominated, deservedly took the lead, but let ourselves down when assuming we would play out the one goal victory. As Allegri said, the penalty incident was on no consequence. We should have won the game regardless with the chances created.

No injuries, more energy than was hoped expelled and one more point clawed towards the league title.

I cannot fault Allegri as he put out the strongest side. Perhaps, understandably, many players were thinking of Monaco, yet if so, they need a reality check of the need to play full pelt every time they step onto the field.

Yet take nothing away from our hosts, who fought for every blade of grass and never lost hope. They were very much under the cosh for the second period and a little fortunate to stumble a draw, yet fortune favours the brave. A lesson some of our squad must embrace, for there are no easy games when you are playing for Juve. Every team sees us as a prize scalp and plays out of their skins to prove to their fans their love for the shirt.

Slight annoyance to drop points, but it is a mere bump in the road, not a turning point for the worse. And it might be a blessing in disguise for Allegri to have reason to roar and rage, spur the squad into livid, seething, berserker zeal for the upcoming semi-final…

Forza Juve

http://www.goal.com/en/tables/serie-a/13?ICID=TP_TN_110

Socrates · April 29, 2017

ATALANTA - JUVENTUS

2-2

Andrea Conti 45'

Leonardo Spinazzola (own goal) 50'

Dani Alves 83'

Remo Freuler 89'

MATCHDAY 34

Friday, April 28th, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Atleti Azzurri d'Italia Stadium, Bergamo
Referee: Marco Guida

Atalanta vs. Juventus 2017: Final score

2-2, Juve almost steal a win in Bergamo

A freak equalizer spoiled a good comeback effort and

saw Juventus leave Bergamo with only a point.

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http://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2017/4/29/15479302/atalanta-

juventus-2017-serie-a-round-34-final-score-result-match-recap

Apr 29, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Weird.

That would be the word I’d choose if I had to sum up Juventus’ game on Friday night against Atalanta in one word.

The Bianconeri looked absolutely awful in the first half. They held possession for most of the first half, but did nothing with it. Whenever they got anywhere close to the final third the passes simply stopped going where they were supposed to go. Atalanta pressed hard, caused problems, and had the better of chances before going into the half with a shock lead. They came out of the half energized and equalized rather quickly, but after taking a late lead threw it all away and will be left hoping for a favorable result from the Derby della Capitale on Sunday.

Weird also applies to referee Marco Guida, who made a couple of really strange decisions that we’ll get to shortly.

Heck, weird would be a great way to describe the situation going into the game. If you said in August that a contest between Juve and Atalanta would be a top-five clash this late in the season, you would likely have been laughed out of the room.

But, it was. Gian Piero Gasperini has led Atalanta brilliantly this year. If the season ended today it would be the best finish in the 109-year history of the club. Powered by a young, hungry lineup largely drawn from one of the best youth programs in Europe, this team has an excellent chance at Europe. If a few things out of their control go their way, the Champions League wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for them.

After giving significant portions of the team days off last week against Genoa, Massimiliano Allegri went with a full A-team in Bergamo in the now-standard 4-2-3-1. Gasperini countered with his new-look 3-4-2-1, with Alejandro Gomez playing as a false nine and striker Andrea Petagna starting on the bench alongside midfield phenom Franck Kessie. On the field for Atalanta were both of his Juventus loanees — wingback Leonardo Spinazzola and center back Mattia Caldara.

As the game began, there were almost immediate signs that there could be trouble. Four minutes in Dani Alves’s attempt at a through ball was intercepted and turned back into a counter for Gomez, whose whipped cross just missed Hans Hateboer.

As the half progressed, a pattern emerged: Juventus players attempted passes, and Atalanta players intercepted those them. Gonzalo Higuain was often the target of such passes, but tended to be a step slow coming to meet them, often beaten to them by Caldara, who had four interceptions on the night. Sometimes there was a bit of variety: Juventus players would try to dribble and Atalanta players would muscle them off the ball.

After that first counterattack neither team had a credible goal-scoring opportunity until roughly 20 minutes in, when Atalanta registered the game’s first shot on target with a long-distance effort from Rafael Toloi that was easily dealt with by Gianluigi Buffon. Six minutes later Juve finally managed their first shot on target or off, Higuain volleying wide after a headed pass from Sami Khedira.

Just before the half, the first of the really strange moments from referee Guida came to the fore. Giorgio Chiellini was clearly fouled by Remo Freuler as he followed through on a pass, but no call came, and when La Dea sent the ball back to the Swiss midfielder he had a clear path to the goal. Buffon came almost all the way out of the penalty area to charge him down and make a great save. The ensuing corner kick was sent over the top by Andrea Masiello.

Higuain had another half chance go begging when Juan Cuadrado snuck him the ball, but his deflected effort again went wide of the far post. The Colombian then had Juve’s best chance of the half fall to him in the 37th minute when Chiellini put a long ball into the box. Cuadrado’s run was a good one, but he ballooned the shot well wide.

Juve’s play continued to be marked by imprecise play. Long passes went nowhere, dummies were made with no one behind to get the pass, players were dispossessed with the ball at their feet. Then, with the last kick of the half, they found themselves behind when they shouldn’t have been.

It started with a run by Jasmin Kurtic. A close-range shot from the Slovenian was blocked by Chiellini, but the ricochet came right to Gomez, who dinked a cross to the back post that was tapped in by an unmarked Andrea Conti.

The problem is it should never have counted. The reason Conti was unmarked was simple: Hateboer knocked Khedira down as the cross came in — but Guida didn’t make the call, and was surrounded by Juve players demanding explanations as the players and officials went down the tunnel for halftime.

The intermission saw Juve wake up a bit. The early exchanges of the second half saw a bit more conviction to their play, and when Paulo Dybala earned a free kick on the right-hand side, an equalizer was suddenly in the cards. Miralem Pjanic’s delivery to the far post was excellent, and Spinazzola’s attempt to clear the ball for a corner...went badly. It was the second time in less than a week that the Bianconeri had benefitted from an own goal.

Emboldened, Dybala streaked into the box less than a minute later only to be denied by Etrit Berisha from an angle. Higuain had a go from the ensuing corner, but that was blocked by a crowd of Atalanta players.

The level of play rose, but never really went above mediocre. Chiellini was dispossessed three times in three minutes but was bailed out every time. As the hour mark approached, though, the needle had definitely ticked in a positive direction.

Then Guida showed up again. It was the 58th minute when Alex Sandro chipped in a cross off a short corner routine. Leonardo Bonucci went up for it, as did Rafael Toloi.

As did Rafael Toloi’s hand.

The ball clearly bounced off the Brazilian’s hand, which was being held over his head. It was as clear a penalty as can be seen in today’s game. And Guida initially gave it — only to quickly overrule himself after seeing the assistant’s offside flag.

The problem was, no one was offside. Bonucci was very much onside when Sandro played the ball in. Mario Mandzukic was technically in an offside position — but he was nowhere close to being involved in the play before Toloi’s hand hit the ball. It was a fantastically bad call in every way you can imagine. Someone at the AIA may want to bring Guido and his crew in for some retraining.

That moment seemed to get to Juve, because for the next 10 minutes things stopped working again. But in the 67th minute, a good pass by Higuain met Khedira at the top of the box. He tried to shape the ball into the corner, and was met by a spectacular save by Berisha. Two corner kicks later the German met a cross with a header and saw Berisha just tip it wide of the far post.

The game was crying out for a substitute to change things up — but that’s the one weakness of this Juve. With Marko Pjaca out for the season and Moise Kean dealing with an ankle injury suffered at the Viareggio Tournament last month, Max Allergi’s ability to change the dynamics of the front four is severely limited.

He finally did make a change in the 79th minute. Stephan Lichtsteiner came on for Cuadrado, who had been booked and given the ball away cheaply in the preceding minutes. The move pushed Dani Alves into the attack. On this day at least, it worked.

Four minutes after the change, Pjanic sent a delicious ball into the box and found the Brazilian streaking through the channel. A diving header gave Juve a 2-1 lead that it may not have deserved on the balance of the game, but given the gauntlet they’ll have to run over the next two weeks one that Juve would take and run. Allegri made a pair of defensive substitutions in quick succession, to run out the last eight minutes of the game.

Except they couldn’t.

With only a minute to go, Juve’s defense suddenly cramped. A cross came in from the left. The deflected effort ended up in no-man’s land. Lichtsteiner was in position to attack it, but Pjanic came from behind and got a touch to it. It came to the Swiss’s feet, but Pjanic’s momentum carried him into his teammate, freeing the ball for Freuler. Buffon managed an excellent save on the first attempt, but Freuler kept going and tapped in his own rebound.

Juve sought a third as stoppage time went on, but Atalanta was not to be breached again, and what looked like three important points on the road to wrapping up the scudetto turned into a lost opportunity to make something out of nothing.

LE PAGELLE

Gianluigi Buffon - 8. Made several great saves, including the one-on-one against Freuler in the first half. His initial save on the equalizer wasn’t shabby either. This game could’ve been firmly in Atalanta’s grasp if not for him.

Dani Alves - 6.5. Great goal, but his passing early in the game was shoddy. Has to do better on Wednesday.

Giorgio Chiellini - 6. Made some great defensive plays but made some...interesting decisions in possession.

Leonardo Bonucci - 6. A pretty nondescript performance. No real mistakes, no glaring errors. Atalanta’s good defensive work up the field neutralized a lot of his long passing ability.

Alex Sandro - 6. Really wasn’t in the game going forward. Did OK defensively.

Sami Khedira - 7. One of the few Juve players whose passing wasn’t universally awful. Found the target with three shots but was denied by Berisha saves — two of which were spectacular.

Miralem Pjanic - 6.5. This was difficult to call. The two balls for the goals were fantastic. But the responsibility for the equalizer was really his — it was probably better to let Lichtsteiner deal with it rather than take a touch like that tracking back.

Juan Cuadrado - 6. Augmented Alves defensively well but didn’t have a good day going forward. Missed a major chance at the end of the first half.

Paulo Dybala - 5. Invisible today. Couldn’t really link the lines, and spent a lot of time on the right wing to avoid congestion (and a beating) in the middle.

Mario Mandzukic - 6. Another good defensive contribution, but couldn’t overcome Conti and Toloi as easily as he has other defenders.

Gonzalo Higuain - 5. Consistently second man to most passes. Caldara had him beat for most of the game.

SUBS

Stephan Lichtsteiner - NR. On in the last 10 minutes to push Alves forward. Bears less responsibility for the equalizer than Pjanic. Probably would’ve been able to clear that ball if he hadn’t been run into.

Andrea Barzagli - NR. On right after the goal, didn’t bear much responsibility for the breakdown.

Mario Lemina - NR. On in the last few minutes to make the formation a true 3-5-2.

Manager: 6. There’s little Allegri could have done differently. He has so little flexibility up front right now, and Atalanta is not the kind of team you can rotate heavily against — not this year. It might’ve been worth making a change a little bit earlier, but he’s really hemmed in at this point.

***BONUS LOANEE RATINGS***

Mattia Caldara - 8.5. In his first game against Juve since they officially became his parent club, Caldara had a fantastic night. Four interceptions, a tackle and eight clearances made up his night, and he wasn’t above mugging Higuain on occasion. He won the battle with the Argentinian today. By my reckoning probably the best man on the field.

Leonardo Spinazzola - 5. Started the day pretty well, but the own goal was the beginning of a downturn, and he was beaten by Alves for Juve’s second. He’s had a breakout this year, but Friday night’s game wasn’t his best.

TACTICAL ANALYSIS

I touched on this already, but it’s worth repeating — depth is a real problem right now.

Without Pjaca, Allegri doesn’t have the means to change the dynamics up front. Moving Alves up, or doing something similar with Alex Sandro on the left, is really the only way to make any in-game changes, and even then you won’t have the advantage of truly fresh legs to turn on a tired defense.

Allegri is doing a pretty good job making do, but at the moment the starting forwards are going to have to do a lot of the heavy lifting, because there isn’t much behind them.

BIG MATCHES AHEAD

Chalking up Friday’s shaky performance to looking forward to Wednesday’s trip to Monaco is too easy. Atalanta is a good team with a great coach. They played without fear and took advantage of Juve’s mistakes.

This isn’t the image you want to have going into such a huge tie, but it’s worth noting that the last time Juve made the semis they managed only a drab 1-0 win against Sampdoria before beating Real Madrid 2-1 in the first leg.

The more significant impact of this game will be on the title race in Italy. Juve now lead by nine points, but Roma have the chance to close the gap on Sunday when they face Lazio in the Derby della Capitale. That second-vs-fourth clash will be hotly contested and a Lazio win is certainly a possibility, so watch this space. A favorable result there could still see Juve on track to win in the next two weeks — possibly even against Roma themselves.

Now, it’s time to regroup and attack get ready for the trip to the Stade Louis II. The cup with the big ears beckons. Fino alla fine.

http://www.goal.com/en/tables/serie-a/13?ICID=TP_TN_110

Socrates · April 29, 2017

ATALANTA - JUVENTUS

2-2

Andrea Conti 45'

Leonardo Spinazzola (own goal) 50'

Dani Alves 83'

Remo Freuler 89'

MATCHDAY 34

Friday, April 28th, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Atleti Azzurri d'Italia Stadium, Bergamo
Referee: Marco Guida

Disinterested Juventus undone by

the pace of Atalanta in 2-2 draw

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http://www.espnfc.co.uk/club/juventus/111/blog/post/3115642/disinterested

-juventus-undone-by-the-pace-of-atalanta-in-2-2-draw

Apr 29, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Up against a vivacious and determined Atalanta side, Juventus could only manage a 2-2 draw on Friday, conceding a last-minute goal to provoke Massimiliano Allegri's ire.

A wasted first half, Juventus barely showed any determination in the first 45 minutes, squandering possession cheaply and gifting the opponents several opportunities. Atalanta by contrast, played with intensity and pace, overwhelming Juventus and grabbing the opening goal just before the end of the first half.

The second half saw a more motivated Bianconeri performance as Paulo Dybala began to work his magic between the lines and players started winning their duels. By elevating the tempo and pushing Atalanta deep, Juve equalised through an own goal and perhaps should have had a second, but the team were not awarded the penalty they sought.

Dani Alves eventually scored what he thought would be the winner only for Atalanta to grab a last-minute equaliser, demonstrating that when Juve's backline is faced with fast players running at them, it is capable of collapsing. A defensive mix-up saw Juve drop two vital points but they will have learnt an important lesson going forward.

Positives

When Juve increase the tempo and push for a goal, they usually succeed. However, the only positive thing to come out of the night is that Juve have a better understanding of their weaknesses when pitted against a young and quick side, allowing them to learn the lessons prior to their Champions League clash with Monaco.

Negatives

Far from concentrated and sloppy in their play, Juventus seemed disinterested and unmotivated, wasting the first half of the game. However, nothing proved more disturbing than the manner in which the team conceded the second goal. Such defensive mix-ups are not typical of this Juve side while it was clear pace really threatened a usually perfectly organised team. This issue must be addressed before the Monaco match.

Manager rating out of 10

6 -- We cannot always expect Juventus to fire from all cylinders in every match, but Allegri did revive the squad to ensure a better second half.

Player ratings (1-10; 10=best; players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating):

GK Gianluigi Buffon, 7 -- Proved decisive on so many occasions, against Alejandro Gomez and Remo Freuler. Came so close to stopping Atalanta from scoring the equaliser in the final minutes.

DF Dani Alves, 7 -- Perhaps the best player on the pitch. Wasn't troubled by Jasmin Kurtic and scored what he thought would be the winning goal. Showed desire and concentration throughout, pushing forward to contribute offensively.

DF Leonardo Bonucci, 5 -- The speed of Atalanta's movements overwhelmed the defender, who struggled against Gomez. Not as composed as he needed to be.

DF Giorgio Chiellini, 5 -- Several good blocks and tackles, especially the one that came before Atalanta's first goal. However, took too many risks and lost possession cheaply at times, punished by eager opponents.

DF Alex Sandro, 5 -- Lackadaisical in his approach but Andrea Conti did incredibly well to force Sandro into defending. The player is better when allowed to push forward but couldn't provide offensive thrusts and instead looked a little overwhelmed in defence.

MF Sami Khedira, 6 -- Had good and bad moments. At times gave up on the ball too easily but he did come close to scoring twice, positioning himself well in both phases of the game.

MF Miralem Pjanic, 6 -- Like his partner in midfield, we saw the good and bad in his performance. Created several chances for Juventus and produced the assist for the second goal but he didn't clear his lines leading to the equalising goal in the 89th minute.

MF Juan Cuadrado, 6 -- Needs to read the tone of the game better as he cannot always engage in theatrics. Lazy with his passes and in the first half he barely contributed defensively.

MF Paulo Dybala, 6 -- Excellent in the second half as he looked to position himself well and create problems between the lines. His passing, vision and creativity are a joy to watch when he is switched on but he contributed little to nothing in the first 45 minutes of the match.

MF Mario Mandzukic, 5 -- Distracted and not nearly as concentrated as usual, failed to see his teammates trying to deliver to him while he often lost possession cheaply.

FW Gonzalo Higuain, 6 -- Consistently looked for the goal, roaming around well in an effort to assist his teammates. Produced a great lay off for Khedira that nearly resulted in a goal in the second half. One of the better performers on the night.

Substitutes

DF Stephan Lichtsteiner, N/A -- Couldn't do much to save Juventus from conceding the second goal.

DF Andrea Barzagli, N/A -- Offered no time to make an impact.

MF Mario Lemina, N/A -- Offered no time to make an impact.

http://www.goal.com/en/tables/serie-a/13?ICID=TP_TN_110

Socrates · April 29, 2017

ATALANTA - JUVENTUS

2-2

Andrea Conti 45'

Leonardo Spinazzola (own goal) 50'

Dani Alves 83'

Remo Freuler 89'

MATCHDAY 34

Friday, April 28th, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Atleti Azzurri d'Italia Stadium, Bergamo
Referee: Marco Guida

Landmarks of Turin Awards:

Atalanta vs. Juventus Edition

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http://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2017/4/29/15483990/juventus-

atalanta-landmarks-of-turin-awards-2017-serie-a-round-34-match-recap

Apr 29, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

For some reason I was posting on the Juventus Reddit, and some bumbling fool suggested, in the Atalanta thread, that Juventus had Serie A “wrapped up.” News flash: There’s a reason Max Allegri fielded Juve’s best 11 players against Atalanta on Friday night, the lineup we’ll probably see against Monaco next week, and it’s not because Juventus have Serie A “wrapped up.”

Now, look, I’m not here to blow this game epically out of proportion. Juventus need to get to 91 points. Right now the Bianconeri have 84, with two bottom-feeders left to play — Bologna and Crotone — a home matchup against Torino, and the date with Roma shortly after the second leg of the Champions League semifinals. Is it probable that Juve manages to only get 90 points from those four games? No. Not probably at all, because they’re Juventus and Allegri will ship them into shape. But is it, in some weird way, given some strange confluence of unfortunate events, possible that a bunch of terrible things happen all at once and Juventus blow the Scudetto?

It’s not out of the realm of possibility.

But once again, I don’t want to blow this out of proportion. That would be dumb. Juve play Monaco next week and that’s awesome and I’m excited to watch the billion dollars’ worth of young players that Monaco have run into the Juventus defense that will hopefully be better.

Aperitivi

A tantalizing collection of titillating tidbits.

All that said, guys, this Atalanta game was REALLY BAD. Blah blah blah...yes Atalanta is a good team, and they’re young and scrappy, and woohoo for Mattia Caldara because imagining Daniele Rugani and him anchoring our defense in a few years is beyond exciting to imagine, but just because Atalanta is good doesn’t mean we should play that bad. The passing was bad. The possession was bad. The worst thing to me about this game was Juve’s form and positioning — which we just saw at world-class level against Barcelona. Goodness gracious!
Here’s what WhoScored said about Juve’s game: “Team has no significant strengths.” Got a good laugh about the verb tense in the sentence — obviously, Juve are mostly strength — but they were right for this game, aside from maybe “badass goaltending,” which is not a category they put there, I think.
When I consider “Team has no significant strengths,” I’m actually happy for a single point. You never know how important a single point will be.
But seriously: For a moment, fantasize about Rugani and Caldara together. (No, not like that!)
Bergamo is actually a very fine little town. I remember going to Bergamo and sitting in the central piazza for aperitivo and I ordered a Negroni and then I ordered another Negroni, and I just sat there thinking about how intellectual I was, ha. Oh my young self, sometimes I wish I had more of you in me now. (This is super OT, I apologize.)
Should that handball have been a penalty? Yes. But do I agree with Allegri that it doesn’t really matter since Juve had the lead with under ten and should’ve stole the three points in a game where it would’ve been just that (complete robbery)? Yes.

Onto the awards (“awards”):

Italian Teenager Gaggle Award

For the unit embodying the following descriptors: incoherent, waste of space, frustrating.

Miralem Pjanic, to me, was one of Juve’s decently performing players, until right at the end there he decided to back-pass rather than to boot the ball out of our penalty area and concede, absolute worst case scenario, a corner. The stupid pass led to a goal, and it canceled out the most fluid and sublime cross there has ever been in Bergamo on the goal to Alves a few minutes before that.

It was as if Pjanic was trying to one-up Sami Khedira, who moments before this decided it would be cool to give the ball to Gomez and not our defense, and make Old Golden God Zeus-Man Buffon earn his paycheck a little more — as if the beautiful netminder hadn’t done enough already.

Pjanic was fine, but cost us a goal. Khedira was less than fine. And when a team struggles to maintain possession, look no further than the midfield.

House of Savoy Award

For the [worst] man of the match.

I don’t really know what to do here. I thought the wings gave a particularly bad display against Atalanta, especially their positioning. Mr. No Good was very No Good, and Cuadrado was unusually insipid in his play. The defense were mostly okay, and as Allegri said the two goals were on silly technical errors, but silly is often the consequence of laziness, I fear.

It seems maybe slightly unfair to single any one unit out for this, but I think that everyone deserves an equal share of this besides Buffon. So, guys, enjoy the hardware.

Giuseppe Garibaldi Award

For the man of the match.

Buffon’s one-on-one save in the first half was brilliant. It didn’t look brilliant, really, because the brilliance of it was timing the exact moment to rush the attacker and close down the window in which it was possible to score. Gigi additionally parried out a number of other shots with which lesser goalkeepers might have struggled.

Was Gigi perfect? I don’t know. Was there more he could’ve done on the two conceded goals? I don’t know. They were strange goals, both of them, the product of clumsy and lazy defending, and so it’s hard for me to fault Gigi on those.

The Takeaway

I don’t think we should ignore that Juve played like absolute crap in virtually every phase of the game, but I also don’t think we should blow this out of proportion. Roma don’t have an easy slate of games coming up, and even if they win out — which would include beating the Bianconeri, of course — Juventus should have plenty in the tank to win the Scudetto.

Now let’s go and kick Monaco’s ass.

http://www.goal.com/en/tables/serie-a/13?ICID=TP_TN_110

Socrates · April 30, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Mbappe: 'Juve fantastic, but...'

http://www.football-italia.net/101820/mbappe-juve-fantastic

Apr 29, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Monaco revelation Kylian Mbappé said Juventus “proved they have everything it takes to win the Champions League, but we’ve got quality too.”

The first leg of the semi-final is at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday evening.

“Juventus are a great club, everyone knows their history and those champions of the past,” the 18-year-old sensation told Mediaset Premium.

“It’s a fantastic squad and by eliminating Barcelona proved they have everything it takes to win the Champions League.

“Having said that, we’ve got quality too and will do everything to go all the way in this competition.”

Socrates · April 30, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Buffon: 'Mbappe' wasn't even born...'

h ttp://www.football-italia.net/101831/buffon-mbappe-wasnt-even-born

Apr 29, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Gigi Buffon has immense respect for Monaco, but the Juventus goalkeeper has his eye on Kylian Mbappé. “I was in a World Cup before he was even born.”

The first leg of their Champions League semi-final is at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday at 20.45 CET - 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).

“I’ll let you in on a little secret,” Buffon told the UEFA.com interviewers.

“After about 30 minutes of the game Monaco played away to Manchester City, I sent a text to my director telling him: ‘This lot can reach the Final, they are excellent.’

“That shows you how much we respect them and their quality. This is not a team that reached the semi-final because of a fluke.

“Monaco play a very attacking, vivacious and sparkling style of football, having quality and in some areas also a lot of experience. We know that if we want to earn another chance at winning the Champions League, we must first overcome another obstacle just as tough as Barcelona.

“Maybe Monaco aren’t considered on the same level as Barcelona in terms of notoriety, but the problem is that performances on the pitch showed they are.”

Remarkably, 39-year-old Buffon has still not conceded in the Champions League knockout ties this season, keeping clean sheets against Porto and the mighty Barcelona.

Now he’ll face off against Radamel Falcao and 18-year-old sensation Mbappé.

“He was born in 1998, right? I had already taken part in the World Cup in France before he was born. This is the joy of life, the great thing about lasting for a long time. You get the meet kids who weren’t even born when you already had a good chunk of your career behind you.

“The other day, I worked out that I managed to connect practically three generations. I used to play with those born in the 1950s and 60s, then I’ll end up playing against those born after the year 2000. It’s an enormous stretch of time.

“It’s stimulating knowing that you’re facing the future Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar. Maybe in 10 years, when I have hung up my gloves, they will be the seasoned champions and I’ll have the memory of playing against them at the start of their careers.

“In any case, Mbappé is an incredible talent and also seems like a good kid, so that will really help his career and I hope it’ll be a luminous career, at that.

“If it is, he won’t need to get through against us… He’ll have many other opportunities to win this trophy in future. He does have similar characteristics to Thierry Henry, such as playing for Monaco, that very easy, smooth and elegant running style.

“At his age, he’s already better in front of goal than Henry was at the time. He scores in almost every game with remarkable consistency and that’s not easy for one so young to be so cool-headed.”

Once again, this tie is pitted as the Juventus defence against Monaco’s sparkling attack, so who will win out?

“All the elements in a sporting challenge are decisive. Experience is an ingredient that will certainly have its say in this game, but enthusiasm and the confidence of youth could also be crucial.

“It might not hurt them to play with enthusiasm and shrug off the pressure. In a game like this, that can really help.”

Socrates · April 30, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Bakayoko doubt against Juve

http://www.football-italia.net/101833/bakayoko-doubt-against-juve

Apr 29, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Monaco could be without Tiemoué Bakayoko for Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final after teammate Kamil Glik broke his nose.

The training ground accident happened on Friday and Bakayoko has been diagnosed with a fractured nose.

He is therefore out of this afternoon’s Ligue 1 game against Toulouse FC.

French reports suggest it’s a race against time to get him match-fit ahead of the first leg of their Champions League semi-final with Juventus.

That kicks off at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday at 20.45 CET - 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).

Bakayoko is a 22-year-old midfielder who has already scored three goals with one assist in 46 competitive games for Monaco this season.

The lone Champions League strike was in their 3-1 victory over Manchester City on March 15, but he was suspended for the 3-2 first leg win away to Borussia Dortmund on April 12.

This is the line-up that started their encounter with Toulouse: Subasic; Dirar, Glik, Jemerson, Mendy; Silva, Fabinho, Moutinho, Lemar; Mbappé, Falcao

The substitute’s bench for Monaco was: De Sanctis, Jorge, Raggi, Toure, N’Doram, Germain and Cardona.

Socrates · April 30, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Monaco scouting report

http://www.football-italia.net/101846/monaco-scouting-report

Apr 29, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Monaco fought back to defeat Toulouse 3-1, so what did we learn about Juventus’ Champions League semi-final rivals?

They extended their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to three points ahead of Wednesday’s first leg showdown with the Bianconeri.

How did they play?

It may not have been the trademark all-out attack that we have grown accustomed to over the course of the season, but Monaco were still deadly when it mattered. 27 shots on goal, 11 on target and 63% possession suggest that the league leaders were in the ascendancy from start to finish.

Their ability to turn defence into attack is quite frightening and, after former Torino defender Kamil Glik brought Monaco level, the floodgates opened. Kylian Mbappé and Thomas Lemar soon added a second and third to make it a routine victory for Leonardo Jardim’s side.

Strengths

As we all know, the strength in this Monaco side is with their forwards. Kylian Mbappé possesses some of the best movement and finishing out of any young striker in the world, and the wide threat of Thomas Lemar and Bernardo Silva is something to be wary of. The winger’s threat on the counter and on the ball make him the perfect partner to a rejuvenated Radamel Falcao, who is showing signs of his form back in his prime at Atletico Madrid and Porto.

Weaknesses

Usually, the midfield partnership of Tiemoue Bakayoko and Fabinho is one of the most formidable in Europe, but with the former facing a race against time to be fit for the semi-final due to a broken nose, the midfield may be shuffled around. Joao Moutinho stepped in today and played a huge part in how Monaco dominated the ball in the second half, but Jardim may choose to place Fabinho into right-back if Djibril Sidibe doesn’t pass his fitness test.

Nabil Dirar played at right-back today, but it is highly doubtful that Monaco will risk having him start ahead of Andrea Raggi or even the younger Almamy Toure. If Fabinho is moved into the full-back position, that leaves a gaping hole in the middle of the park that Miralem Pjanic and a deeper-lying Paolo Dybala could exploit.

Injuries/Suspensions

Djibril Sidibe is highly likely to miss out against Juventus due to appendicitis, meaning either Fabinho or the inexperienced Almamy Toure will have to fill in at right-back, an area Max Allegri will look to exploit. Tiemoue Bakayoko could potentially have to wear a protective face mask, but if that fails, he will be a huge miss for Leonardo Jardim.

Socrates · April 30, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Glik can't wait for Juventus

http://www.football-italia.net/101855/glik-cant-wait-juventus

Apr 30, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Monaco defender Kamil Glik admits he developed as a player in Serie A with Torino and is ready to face Juventus in the Champions League semi-final.

The first leg of their showdown is at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday evening.

“My experience in Italy gave me a lot of confidence and helped me to improve both tactically and technically,” the Poland international told Canal+Sport.

“Now we await Juventus. We hope to win, but it won’t be easy. It’s true that Juve are a great side, but they haven’t beaten us yet.”

Monaco are also on track to win the Ligue 1 title following Saturday’s 3-1 victory over FC Toulouse, in which Glik found the net.

You can read our scouting report from that match here.

“I have scored with a lot of headers, it’s a strong side to my game.”

Socrates · May 1, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

The audacity of Monaco

Free-scoring Monaco have nothing to lose in their Champions League semi-final with

Juventus, and that is their greatest strength, writes Chloe Beresford.

http://www.football-italia.net/101862/audacity-monaco

Apr 30, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Juventus face Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday evening with the tie undoubtedly billed as defence versus attack. Whilst the Bianconeri have been hailed for their rock-solid duo of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini – along with Gianluigi Buffon as the last line of defence – their French counterparts have been firing in goals for fun.

There was to be no repeat of the ‘remuntada’ seen against PSG from Barcelona in the quarter-final, as the faultless Juventus defence kept a surprising clean sheet over two legs. Meanwhile, Monaco carried on their tradition of simply outscoring their opponents with a 6-3 aggregate victory over Borussia Dortmund.

Generally lining up in a 4-4-2 formation, the Monegasques have scored an incredible 95 goals in 34 Ligue 1 fixtures, outscoring PSG by 24 and third-placed Nice by 39. Much has been made of the attacking prowess of their front two Radamel Falcao and highly-sought-after youngster Kylian Mbappé, but what are the strengths and weaknesses of Leonardo Jardim’s side?

Max Allegri’s men would do well to exploit aerial weaknesses in their opponents, with Monaco struggling to defend set-pieces, despite the presence of ex-Torino captain Kamil Glik. Only Lorient have conceded more from dead ball situations in Ligue 1 this term, with Monaco letting in a total of 13 along with 13 from open play.

With the likes of Mario Mandzukic, Gonzalo Higuain, Sami Khedira (suspended for the first leg), Bonucci and Chiellini all posing an aerial threat, it is not surprising that only Torino, Atalanta and Inter have scored more in this respect than the Old Lady during the current campaign.

At the other end of the pitch, the fabled back-line of the Old Lady will face a very different test to that of the tiki-taka Barcelona. Whilst the MSN are undoubtedly potent in attack, Monaco have a more direct style, creating multiple scoring chances with speed and a direct approach.

Alex Sandro and Dani Alves will need to be aware of the prowess of Bernardo Silva and Thomas Lemar on the flanks, the duo having weighed in with a combined total of 14 assists for their team-mates in Ligue 1 this season.

Stephan Lichtsteiner cited youthful inexperience as the main weakness of Jardim’s side, but perhaps this could be turned on its head to become their main strength. For Juve veteran Gianluigi Buffon, time is running out to win the most coveted prize in club football, but for the dynamic attack-centric Monaco, their careers have only just begun.

Socrates · May 1, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Dybala: 'This is Juve's year'

http://www.football-italia.net/101914/dybala-juves-year

Apr 30, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Paulo Dybala believes “this can be our year” for Juventus to win the Champions League and he has studied Monaco carefully.

The first leg of the Champions League semi-final is on Wednesday at the Stade Louis II.

“We know that both legs are going to be very tough,” Dybala told UEFA.com.

“Monaco are top of their league and are doing very well. They're a tough team – they're strong and they have some really fine players, but so do we, so it's sure to be a great spectacle.

“We've seen that they attack in numbers and score a lot of goals, but that means there will also be some space for us.

“This could be our year – we're doing very well in all the competitions we're involved in. It won't be easy because there are another three teams who, like us, want to win it, but we're going to give our all.

“Winning the competition would be an objective fulfilled, because it's one of my ambitions, as it is for my team-mates.

“It would be a thoroughly deserved reward for many of the boys who have been here for a long time and done so much over the years, from Gianluigi Buffon to Claudio Marchisio, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini. They haven't been able to lift the trophy yet and I think they really deserve to.”

The Argentine was asked to describe himself and what he brings to Juventus.

“I try to be a quick-witted player and think about what I'm going to do in advance, because you don't get much time on the ball. Nowadays football is very fast-paced, and you've got to be switched on at all times.

“I try to analyse games, look at how opposition teams and players operate, and make the most of my abilities, especially my left foot, which is probably my biggest asset. I just look to do my best to help my team-mates.

“Ronaldinho was one of my favourite players when I was growing up and the image he conveyed to me was that you've got to have fun and play with a smile on your face.

“European Coaches and players sometimes don't look at football the way we South Americans do. We enjoy the game, laugh a lot, dance and so on. I always seek to have fun and enjoy what I do out on the pitch. That's just my mindset.”

La Joya was asked about his Dybala Mask celebration, which has now become a logo on his official website.

“At the start of this year, I decided that I wanted a new celebration to go with the new year and I started thinking about ideas. One day, the 'Dybala Mask' came to me, which has a significant meaning behind it, and it's brought me a bit of luck because things have been going really well for me ever since I did that celebration for the first time.

“It's better below the nose. I prefer it that way, but everyone is free to do it their own way.”

Socrates · May 1, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

What does Monaco bring to the table?

Examining Juventus’ next European opponent

http://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2017/5/1/15480792/juventus

-monaco-2017-champions-league-semifinals-tactics-team-management

Apr 30, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Monaco is everyone's favorite team this season. At eye level, they are very entertaining, scoring about 2.78 goals/game, just right behind Barcelona's 2.97 goals/game from the top five leagues (England, Germany, France, Italy and Spain) in Europe. On a tactical level, Monaco is unique, playing a brand of football that is very different from the rest of the European elites. Leonardo Jardim has designed some very innovative strategies to maximize the potential of the team.

Formation

Monaco almost exclusively plays a 4-4-2 formation both in the offensive and the defensive phase:

Monaco (4-4-2): Subasic // Mendy-Jemerson-Glik-Sidibe // Lemar-Bakayako-Fabinho-Bernardo Silva // Mbappe-Falcao

This lineup is possibly Monaco’s strongest lineup this season.

Danijel Subašić is the starting goalkeeper. In defense, Djibril Sidibé, Jemerson, Kamil Glik and Benjamin Mendy are all very physical defenders. Andrea Raggi has often played in the center back position. He has also played as a left back. Almamy Touré has started as the right back position. However, none of the substitutes can replace Mendy in the offensive phase, who is a potent threat for the opponents down the left flank.

In the midfield, the two wide midfielders — Thomas Lemar and, especially, Bernado Silva — are the most creative players in this team. Fabinho and Tiemoué Bakayoko are the "steel" and act as the physical and defensive anchor of the midfield. João Moutinho has often started in the central midfielder role in place of either Fabinho and Bakayoko. Moutinho possesses better techniques and passing ranges when compared to the latter two players, who are more physical and defensive.

In the attack, the “new Thierry Henry," teenage sensation Kylian Mbappé, and veteran finisher Radamel Falcao lead the line. Valère Germain is the first substitute for them.

Defense

Although Monaco is known for its great fire power in their attack, their defensive strategy is their unique and powerful weapon. A very high line characterizes the defensive phase of Monaco. They most often uses a 4-2-2-2 defensive shape. The shape can sometimes change to a more traditional 4-3-3, with Bernado Silva joining the strikers to form a three-man first line of defense. Lemar sometimes carries this duty, depending on the movement of the ball.

The grand scheme of Monaco's defense can be summarized as the following — eliminating the opponent's ball progression on the flanks and forcing the opponent to play the ball in the middle. They construct a very high-pressure environment by maintaining multiple physical players in the central area. All these factors facilitate ball retrieval and therefore, the defensive-to-offensive transition.

In Monaco's high 4-2-2-2 formation, the front six players make up three different lines. Bernado Silva and Lemar occupy the middle line and position wider than the other four players, making a hexagonal shape:

The hexagonal shape is critical for the function of Monaco's defense. The wider midfielders almost always mark the opponent's fullbacks. Therefore, when an opponent tries to enter the offensive phase through the build-up, the passing lanes to the fullbacks are often blocked or eliminated.

Moreover, when pressing the center backs, Monaco's players often run to the center backs with an angle that interfered the center back's passing lane to the full backs.

The goal of the hexagonal shape and the pressing angle is that by eliminating the passing lanes to the fullbacks, Monaco can direct and limit the opponent's ball movement to the central area. In theory, the advantages of this strategy are multi-fold:

By eliminating the ball movements through the full-backs in the build-up, there is less instance that the opponent would be able to stretch open Monaco's defense. Moreover, Monaco's players will spend less energy devoted to running between the flanks during the defensive phase.
When the ball's movement is limited in the center, Monaco can easily create a high-pressure environment, because the number of players per area close to the ball increases significantly. These tactics help to maximize the potential of Monaco players, who are extremely physical, robust and athletic. All of these factors facilitate more chances that Monaco's players would be able to attack and retrieve the ball and achieve the defensive-to-offensive transitions.

Monaco encouraged the opponents to pass or advance the ball through the middle. The two strikers often allow the center backs or the dropping midfielders to carry the ball past them. Once getting past the first line of the defense, the opponent can find themselves surrounded by Monaco's front four players.

Even if an opponent gets past Monaco's front four players, they will find themselves challenged by Monaco's two very physical and athletic central defensive midfielders in Bakayoko and Fabinho.

Moreover, Monaco's defenders often hold a very high line during their pressing to minimize the distance between them and the two central defensive midfielders. This arrangement makes it very hard for the opponents to break past multiple lines of physical defense.

Almost everything Monaco does in the defensive phases is dependent on each other and affects each other. For example, not only do their four defenders position themselves very high and close to the central defensive midfielders, but they also hold a very compact shape to increase the pressure on the ball in the middle.

The narrowness of the four defenders also highlights the importance of the pressing of the first line of the defense and the positions of the wide midfielders. Because the four defenders stay so close to each other, there is a lot of space on the flanks. Therefore, it is important for Monaco to limit the opponents from utilizing the flanks because they are very exposed in those areas. Moreover, if Monaco can direct the opponents to play through the center, they need to deploy a lot of players to challenge the ball. The compact and narrow shape is critical to maximizing their chances of the ball retrieval and the defensive-to-offensive phase transition. Every movement, shape, and tactic connects, multiplies, and depends on each other.

Monaco's tactic is most similar to Atletico Madrid. Both teams play a 4-4-2 formation and use the first line of defense to direct the opponent's ball movements into are they desire. Atleti likes to defend on the flanks while Monaco likes to defend in the middle. Both teams thrive on transitions. It is interesting to see that at the age of 4-3-3, two of the semi-finalist in the Champions League primarily play a 4-4-2 formation while Juventus plays 4-4-2 half of the time. The only team that plays a full-time 4-3-3 is Real Madrid. 4-4-2 may finally return.

Transitions

Monaco thrives on the defensive-to-offensive transitions. They can generate various transition opportunities by the above mentioned defensive strategies. Most of their players are extremely physical and athletic and allow them to take full advantage of the transition opportunities:

Mbappe, Lemar, Mendy and Bernado Silva are all very fast and skillful. They thrive in the open space. With Falcao finally playing at a high level, every transition becomes very dangerous for the opponent. It is a nightmare to play against them because they can also generate transitions through counter-pressing or even a simple throw-in:

Offense

The offensive phase is Monaco's weakest link. Most of their players, except Bernado Silva and Moutinho, lack passing ranges. They thrive on transitions, but they lack ideas when they need to build up from the back. Most of the time, their defenders mainly play long ball to bypass the midfield to target the strikers directly. But the lack of accuracy of these passes means that they are more likely to create counter-pressing opportunities rather than reaching the strikers directly.

Bernado Silva shoulders almost all of the creativity duty for Monaco. He has excellent techniques and is very creative. He must be marked carefully.

In the instances where Monaco needs to enter the offensive phase gradually, they often progress the ball on the left flanks. Mendy and Lemar most often combine with each other to advance the ball:

Monaco's offense can become very dangerous when Bernado Silva or Mbappe move to the left side to combine with Lemar and Mendy. However, this is almost the only way they can open up the opponent's defense through build-up.

How should Juventus approach this tie?

First of all, Juventus needs to find a way to handle Monaco's directed presses. As impressive as how Monaco uses these high presses to direct the opponent's ball movements, many ways can counter these tactics.

One way to counter Monaco's 4-2-2-2 press is to use a back three plus a midfield ball receiver in the build-up. The three players in the back will overload the two strikers. Coupled with a tactically talented midfield ball receiver, the back three can create an array of passing lanes between each other that neutralizes Monaco's first press:

The back three configurations can be a permanent one like Dortmund or one that uses a dropping midfielder in between the center backs, like Paris Saint-Germain:

In the cup game against Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain almost completely neutralized Monaco's high presses. The key is that PSG had two excellent passers in Marco Verratti and Thiago Motta. With one of them dropping back to form a back three with the two center backs, PSG often created overloads that counter Monaco's 4-2-2-2 presses. Once getting past the first line of Monaco's defense, Verratti or Motta could deliver the ball almost anywhere they want:

In the case when Monaco push Bernado Silva up to form a 4-3-3 press, Paris Saint-Germain also effectively countered by having the goalkeeper to contribute the ball movements, therefore overloading Monaco:

Juventus can do just like PSG did. Miralem Pjanic and Claudio Marchisio are just as impressive passers as Verratti and Motta. Leonardo Bonucci has the best passing range among the world’s center backs. The combinations of these three players can solve Monaco's defense like Paris Saint-Germain did.

The key for Juventus is to maintain the focus and eliminate the mistakes. Unlike the previous tie against Barcelona, it is more likely that Juventus will control a majority of the possession against Monaco. Any mistake that allows Monaco to generate the defensive-to-offensive transition is dangerous.

A problem for Juventus that arises once in a while is that when they play against a supposedly lesser team (such as recent games against Udinese and Atalanta), they will commit numerous uncharacteristic mistakes. They will place a lot of silly passes and commit a lot of unforced errors. A reason may be that Juventus does not have a very strict pre-configured way of tactics like Napoli, Monaco or Atletico Madrid. Players in these teams follow very strict instructions on what, where and when to perform a particular task during the different phases of the game. Under Maximiliano Allegri, Juventus rarely play like that way in the offensive phase. Especially this year, players have to decide on what to do in the game. There is almost no pre-configured way to attack the opponents, except maybe to try to find Paulo Dybala in the spaces between the lines.

Such way of playing relies on players to read and react, and it is easily affected if the team does not have the right focus. Their performance worsens when they lose the patience. This is probably one reason why Juventus performed uncharacteristically bad in a few instances when they played a lesser opponent. There are supporter and critic of this way of playing, and we have seen teams from the both sides become the champion. It is a matter of coaching philosophy and the potential of the players in the teams.

In this type of Champions League semifinal, there is no reason to believe that Juventus will underestimate the opponent or lose the focus. If they can play calmly and be patient, they should not run into too many problems. As impressive as Monaco's tactics are, they play with a lot of risks, and they run on a thin line between dominance and suffering. When a team plays with such high lines of defense but does not possess the skill level to control the possession, they cannot easily monitor the tempo. Playing without possession, like Monaco does, also means that they are often withstanding pressure. The 4-2-2-2 allows Monaco to dictate the opponent's ball movements, but it also exposes the two central midfielders at times when the teammates cannot maintain close distances between each other. Moreover, the extreme compactness of the team shape means that they are often exposed on the flanks.

Monaco is a dangerous opponent because they’re a team that takes a lot of risks. As long as Juventus is patient, calm, and careful so that they can dictate the tempo, they should be able to beat Monaco and advance to the final.

Socrates · May 1, 2017

Scudetto next week for Juventus?

http://www.football-italia.net/101929/scudetto-next-week-juventus

May 1, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Juventus could potentially seal the Scudetto at home next Saturday in the Derby clash with Torino.

The Bianconeri are now nine points clear of second-place Roma with just four games remaining.

This means that should Juventus take all three points against the Granata and Roma can only draw or lose to Milan at San Siro, the title will be sealed.

If Max Allegri’s side draw, the Giallorossi would have to lose in order for the Old Lady to mathematically sew up the league.

In the event that Juventus lose to their cross-city rivals – or indeed if Roma beat Milan – the title would not be decided until the following week, when they face the Giallorossi at the Stadio Olimpico.

http://www.goal.com/en/tables/serie-a/13?ICID=TP_TN_110

Socrates · May 1, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Glik: 'Attack will be key for Monaco'

http://www.football-italia.net/101930/glik-attack-will-be-key-monaco

May 1, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Monaco defender Kamil Glik insists their attack will be key to beating Juventus, insisting 'we haven't scored 150 goals for nothing'.

The first leg of the semi-final will be played at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday evening.

"I chose Monaco because my dream has always been to play in the Champions League and to reach the semi-finals in my first season is not bad," the former Torino man told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"We have played so many matches, we started from the preliminaries in Europe and in France we’ve been competing on two fronts.

"But the victories help us to recover faster. The match against Juventus will be complicated, I think the attacking phase will be important for us, you don’t score 150 goals for nothing. For Juve the crucial thing will be organisation.

"If even Barca could not score in two games it means that it will be difficult for us. Our team knows how to attack, and of course playing this way risks something, but for now it has paid off in terms of results, so it's fine.

"Juventus are the favourites, so they can decide to attack now or hold off, at least when we’re at home. They are a formidable team that, in my opinion, have presented themselves as best of all.

"And they are certainly favourites to win the league, in the Champions league perhaps they are the favourite in the midst of the strong teams.

"They defend well, they have great strikers and they are balanced. We must prepare for this game in order to score goals and not to concede."

Socrates · May 1, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Glik: 'Mbappe-Falcao like Dybala-Higuain'

http://www.football-italia.net/101931/glik-mbappe-falcao-dybala-higuain

May 1, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Kamil Glik insists that Monaco strike pairing Kylian Mbappe and Radamel Falcao are similar to Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain in terms of numbers.

The former Torino defender also cleared up controversy over a photo posted on social media of a strong tackle on former Juventus midfielder Emmanuele Giaccherini.

"I spent five wonderful years with Toro, so it will undoubtedly be a special match for me," Glik continued in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.

"The photo posted after the draw? It was only a way to remember my years at Toro, I have beautiful memories. I did not want to load the game, I wanted it to be a nice thing.

"Belotti? I knew he was strong, and this was confirmed this season. He has scored so many goals so it is logical that we talk about him in Europe.

"If you have these numbers at 18 years old it is no accident. You can flatter to deceive in five or six matches, but not twenty.

"I'll describe him by saying he is a good guy and this – in a time when everyone is talking much about him – is the most important thing.

"Mbappe? He’s always calm and down-to-earth. Along with Falcao, who has returned to his level, the numbers prove that the two of them are like Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala.

"I do not like to compare players who are completely different, but if you score this many goals in a season it means you are strong.

"Are we like Leicester? Monaco always competes to win the championship, so the comparison with Leicester seems a bit too much to me. In the Champions League maybe the comparison exists. For now."

Socrates · May 1, 2017

Five things we learned from Week 34

http://www.football-italia.net/101936/five-things-we-learned-week-34

May 1, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Juventus dropped points in Bergamo on Friday night, but still managed to extend their lead at the top of Serie A to nine points.

The Old Lady now has one hand firmly on the Scudetto, while Roma have Napoli breathing down their necks.

At the other end of the table, Crotone’s revival continues to impress, and they’ve given themselves a fighting chance with four games remaining.

Here’s what we learned from Week 34.

Roma continue to struggle under pressure

The Giallorossi have been accused of lacking the bottle for crucial fixtures, and it’s an accusation which will be levelled at them again after this weekend.

Juventus had drawn with Atalanta on Friday night, meaning the Giallorossi had the chance to keep their title hopes alive and reduce the gap to six points when they took on Lazio in the Derby della Capitale.

However, Luciano Spalletti’s men fell to a 3-1 defeat, with Antonio Rudiger seeing red in stoppage time.

After defeat in the Champions League play-off with Porto, and more recently in the Europa League and Coppa Italia, the Lupi have questions to answer about their big-game mentality.

Juventus show chinks in their armour

Roma’s loss saw Juventus actually extend their lead at the top, but the 2-2 draw with Atalanta will serve as a stark warning ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Monaco.

The Bianconeri couldn’t cope with Atalanta’s quick pressing game in the first half, and deservedly trailed at the break.

After a second half rally which seemed to have them on their way to three points, a lapse in concentration at the back allowed to Orobici to equalise.

As Coach Max Allegri noted after the match, Monaco play a similar style and Juve will need to put in a far better performance at the Stade Louis II this midweek.

Genoa are in a relegation battle

It looked certain that one of Crotone or Empoli would be heading to Serie B, but Genoa have been sucked into a relegation dogfight.

The Grifone’s loss to Chievo means they’re now just five points above the drop zone, with one point from their last seven games.

Ivan Juric left the post-match Press conference in tears, while his side’s next four games see them take on Inter, Palermo, Torino and Roma.

Given Crotone’s resurgence, there will be some nervous fans at the Marassi during the run-in.

The exits of Leonardo Pavoletti, Tomas Rincon and Lucas Ocampos in January now looks like a monumental blunder.

Pioli struggles to change games

Inter’s recent woeful run of form continued with a home defeat to Napoli, and the Europa League situation would be even worse were it not for Milan’s recent struggles.

Stefano Pioli has been largely let off the hook given the way he turned around Frank de Boer’s struggling outfit, but the Coach is showing some worrying deficiencies.

What has been notable in this run is that the former Lazio boss is almost never able to change a game with substitutions, save for arguably making his side worse.

The continued omission of Gabigol is baffling, the €30m Brazilian can’t even get off the bench these days.

Milan are crawling over the line

Inter’s collapse has somewhat masked problems in the red-and-black half of Milan, but Vincenzo Montella has issues to resolve too.

In their previous five games, the Rossoneri have faced the four bottom sides and managed just five points, with the previous two results being a loss at home to Empoli and a draw in Crotone.

The Diavolo may just manage a Europa League place, but if they do it will be down to the lack of a credible challenger, rather than their own form.

http://www.goal.com/en/tables/serie-a/13?ICID=TP_TN_110

Socrates · May 1, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Lahoz to referee Monaco-Juve

http://www.football-italia.net/101937/lahoz-referee-juve-monaco

May 1, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz has been assigned to officiate over Juventus’ Champions League semi-final clash with Monaco.

The first leg takes place at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday evening, kick off is at 20:45 CET - 19:45 UK time.

Lahoz was in charge when Juventus defeated Borussia Dortmund over two legs in the round of 16 back in February 2015.

Famous for letting games flow, the official was subject to controversy when presiding over Manchester City’s tie with Monaco when he denied a seemingly certain penalty to Sergio Aguero and booked him for diving.

Socrates · May 1, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Monaco v Juventus – Champions League Q&A

http://www.juvefc.com/monaco-v-juventus-champions-league-qa/

May 1, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Ahead of Juve’s Champions League semi-final match against AS Monaco, we put your questions to French footballer writer Rich Allen. Follow him here on Twitter.

Do you expect Jardim to adjust his tactics to Juve’s system or will he stick to his transitional game, even though Monaco might struggle in finding gaps to exploit in Juve’s defence? How are the players on a physical level, since they’ve played more than 50 games this season?

I think Monaco will adopt the same game plan they’ve employed all season. They’ll want to be quick out of the blocks to try and grab an early goal. It’s worked in their recent Champions League fixtures but Juventus certainly represent a huge step up in quality. Monaco are not a team to sit back as it’s not in their nature so I would see no reason why they would try something new now. Leonardo Jardim has improved as a coach this season, along with the players, and he has proven to be a reactive coach who is unafraid to make the changes mid-game when they are needed. The players are starting to look a little tired having played so many games this season. They got a much needed recent rest when Jardim played a virtual reserve team in their recent Coupe de France semi-final defeat to PSG. With the season end in sight, Jardim will be doing everything in his power to get the final ounces of effort from his players.

Monaco have conceded 16 goals so far in this seasons CL, would that be a fair record to base our judgement on their defence ?

It’s probably not far off to be honest. It’s certainly their weakest area of the game and with the attacking nature of the side, especially with the way Jardim gets his full backs to push forward, it does mean they are open to conceding. It is worth noting though that nine of those goals game in the last two rounds against Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund. Despite it not being their strongest area, they are by no means pushovers, especially with their first choice back line in place.

Whats the strongest characteristic of their team?

Without a doubt they are at their best when pushing forward. Thomas Lemar, Bernardo Silva, Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappe represent one of the most lethal forward lines in Europe this season. They tick all the boxes, pace, movement, finishing, dribbling ability – they have the lot. When you add in the forward runs of Djibril Sidibe (if he is fit) and Benjamin Mendy from their full back positions, they have enough to trouble any defence.

If you could pick one player from Juventus, who would it be?

It’s without a doubt Gianluigi Buffon. Whilst Danijel Subasic is by and large a decent goalkeeper, he is still prone to some high profile mistakes. The same cannot be said for a Buffon, in my mind the best ever.

Do you think Monaco have the potential to repeat this season in the future, or is this just a ‘very lucky’ season?

It’s been recently reported that Monaco will only look to sell two of their big name players in the summer. Bernardo Silva and Tiemoue Bakayoko the players linked with moves away. Monaco have an excellent scouting network and there are rumours they have already identified replacements for those players. If they can keep hold of the majority of the players that have performed so brilliantly this season there is no reason they can’t repeat this success.

What do the French media think of their chances against Juve?

They know that Juventus represent perhaps the toughest opponent Monaco could have faced in the semi-finals. However Monaco weren’t overwhelming favourites in the last two rounds but still got the job done. I think there is just a pride to see a French team finally back in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

How much have Monaco changed since the QF meeting two years ago?

They have changed hugely since then. They have morphed from a defensively minded team that hit opponents on the counter attack into an all out goalscoring force. This is by and far a more exciting, younger squad which plays a much more attractive brand of football. As previously mentioned, Jardim has also improved since then by becoming more decisive and tactically astute.

How do you think they will penetrate Juve’s defence?

This is certainly going to be the toughest question Jardim and his side will have to figure out an answer for. It would seem odd for him to try and employ a completely new strategy considering it has proved so successful for them this season. They can’t afford to be wasteful in front of goal. They’ll rely on Mendy and Sidibe getting forward to double up down the wings. There are big doubts on whether Sidibe will have recovered from appendicitis for this game. If he hasn’t then Jardim may turn to another youngster in Almamy Toure or the veteran Nabil Dirar. With the likes of Kamil Glik, Bakayoko and Falcao, Monaco are strong from set pieces so this may be another area Jardim will be keen to take advantage of. There is no doubt though it’s going to take something special to breakdown Juventus’ excellent defence.

How important is it to have an experienced player like Falcao in the young and talented squad?

Falcao has absolutely thrived since returning to Monaco after his unfortunate time in England. He’s looking fit again and having taken on the captaincy, he’s been in excellent form. For the first time in his career, he’s now seen as a senior player and with so many young players around him, it’s a role he’s thoroughly enjoyed. He may have lost that burst of pace he once had but he has the likes of Silva and Mbappe to do the running for him. This allows him to use all his experience in making clever runs and finding space in the box. He’s also been absolutely clinical in front of goal. It’s been a joy to see him back to his best.

How have Monaco successfully switched from being big spenders to smart financial tacticians and still outshine teams like PSG?

Their change in transfer policy was one which was pretty much forced on them by a combination of the Financial Fair Play rules and the club President having gone through a very expensive divorce. They have instead put money into their scouting network which has done wonders in identifying young talent around Europe, including in France. They are then able to procure these players, develop them and sell them on for huge profit. It’s a strategy which has been successfully employed at various clubs around the continent, most notably Porto. Whilst PSG’s tactic has been in the most part to focus on bringing in big name players such as Angel Di Maria and Julien Draxler, it perhaps comes at a price by not focusing on the needs of the team and value of close knit group of players. Most people saw the areas that PSG needed to improve during the last two transfer windows, however they either ignored that or didn’t recruit well enough.

Their strongest/most important player, most dangerous player, weakest player, and biggest weakness defensively (player- or team-wise) ?

Most important player: Bernardo Silva. The Portuguese youngster has been brilliant this season. He has so much going for him. There are very few better than him on the ball or when he’s running at players, with his low centre of gravity making it difficult to get the ball of him. It’s no surprise the best teams in Europe are keen to make a move for him.

Most dangerous player: Kylian Mbappe. There’s not much more that can be said at just what an outrageously talented player this 18 year old is. Very few people could have predicted the impact he has made this season. For someone so young he seems to rarely be fazed by things, keeping a cool head at all times. It will be very exciting to see how he can cope coming up against some of the world’s best defenders.

Weakest players and biggest weakness defensively: It’s probably Subasic in goal. The Croatian can make some world class saves but at some key moments this season we have seen him lose concentration and make some needless mistakes. Juventus should look to test him from distance and get balls into the box.

Anyone (player, coach, director, other) flying under the radar at Monaco given the obvious success of a few stars in the team?

Despite all the talk being about the attacking players Monaco have and the two holding midfielders in Fabinho and Bakayoko, one player who has gone under-appreciated is perhaps Kamil Glik. The Polish centre back was signed from Torino in the summer for less than €11m and has gone to become one of the best defenders in Ligue 1 this season. He’s provided leadership at the back and has forged a strong partnership with Jemerson at the heart of the Monaco defence. He’s also developed a useful knack of scoring some very important goals.

Which strengths of the Monaco team do you think are the key to advancing to the final against Juve?

Both sides have full backs who like to get forward. Who comes out on top here could be the team to take glory. It will be interesting to see who is chosen to replace Sidibe if he is ruled out. Almamy Toure is arguably better defensively than Sidibe but not as good going forward. The other option would be Nabil Dirar who is naturally a more attack minded player but perhaps could be exposed more easily on the back foot.

Bakayoko is also recovering from a broken nose but should be fit to play, albeit wearing a mask. His partnership with Fabinho in midfield will be key. If they can look to dominate that area of the pitch it sets the wheels in motion for Monaco to push forward.

Do you think Mbappé and the others will have the same space to run in front of them like with City and BVB?

I would doubt they will but Mbappe, Falco, Lemar and Silva are all very capable of making clever runs and creating their own space. For all the talk of how good the Juventus defence is, they mustn’t think this tie is a done deal. They will need to be at their best against a side who will come at them again and again.

Predicted starting Monaco XI?

4-4-2

Subasic

Sidibe, Jemerson, Glik, Mendy

Silva, Fabinho, Bakayoko, Lemar

Falcao, Mbappe

Your combined Juve/Monaco XI

4-2-2-2

Socrates · May 1, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Mbappe 'watches Juve regularly'

http://www.football-italia.net/101939/mbappe-watches-juve-regularly

May 1, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

The uncle of Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe reveals his nephew 'watches Juventus every week'.

With his father and uncle both football Coaches and his mother a former handball player, the family certainly has a sporting background.

"I gave Kylian a ball on the day he was born to convey to him our passion for football,” his uncle Pierre told Tuttosport. "Not only on the field, but off it.

"He does everything he can to see every game. He studies videos to better himself, he reads sports newspapers and magazines .

"His idols are [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Lionel] Messi and Neymar, but also [Zinedine] Zidane and [David] Trezeguet in France. In Italy it’s [Gianluigi] Buffon and Simone Inzaghi.

"For this match he will not need to study Juventus as he watches the Bianconeri every week along with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea."

Arsene Wenger compared the youngster to Thierry Henry, but his uncle doesn’t go along with the claim.

"I do not think it’s right, he has a different style in terms of shooting, dribbling and scoring goals. I cannot think of a relevant comparison."

After an incredible season, inevitable speculation has linked the 18-year-old with a number of top European sides. How do his family feel about this?

"In football you never know, he's fine at Monaco and when the time comes it will be discussed with the family. We are people who live for football, so I do not think he needs an agent.

"I wouldn’t be surprised if on Wednesday he asked for Buffon’s shirt, he admires him for his quality and longevity in football but a bit less so for having never won the Champions League.

"He’s only thinking about beating Juventus in the Champions League and winning Ligue 1, and maybe one day to challenge for the Ballon d’Or. It will no longer be Ronaldo-Messi, but Neymar-Dybala-Mbappe."

Socrates · May 1, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

‘Juve? Atalanta scored two…’

http://www.football-italia.net/101940/juve-atalanta-scored-two

May 1, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Radamel Falcao believes Monaco can get at Juventus in the Champions League semi-finals. “Atalanta put two past them…”

Speaking to La Stampa on Monday – 48 hours before the first leg at Stade Louis II – Falcao also felt both sides had “great goalscorers” and that facing Gianluigi Buffon was “an extra stimulus” for him to find the back of the net in the tie.

“I’m fine and happy,” the striker told the newspaper.

“A Champions League semi-final is a great opportunity, especially at my age. It’s something that might not happen again.

“Mbappe and I better than Higuain and Dybala? Both teams have great goalscorers. It’ll be a spectacle.

“Scoring against Juve isn’t easy because they’re a very balanced team. They have great players at the back, but above all they’re good at defending as a team.

“It’s true that Barcelona were unable to score a goal against them, but Atalanta put two past them.

“In football, anything is possible. Those who love football can’t not like how Dybala plays.

“Buffon? He’s a great goalkeeper, we all admire him.

“I’ve never met him, so to score a goal against him will be an extra stimulus.

“I think the game against Juve is our most important of the season. But after that, it’ll be against Nancy. That’s how it works, right?”

Socrates · May 1, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Mbappe: I want to beat Buffon

http://www.football-italia.net/101942/mbappe-i-want-beat-buffon

May 1, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Monaco forward Kylian Mbappe says that while he is “glad” about facing Gianluigi Buffon, he will “give his best to beat” the Juventus goalkeeper.

In an interview with UEFA.com ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg, Mbappe also suggested the 4-4-2 formation was not dead, as Monaco had showed, and that his side had an equal chance of lifting the trophy to Juve.

“We play a 4-4-2 with two attackers – and he plays Radamel, who is a striker, whereas I am more of a winger up front,” explained the starlet.

“I like to move around more on the pitch, and the coach gives me the freedom to do that. I am free to go right, left or in the centre. It’s something I really like so I thank the coach for that.

“In this team there are plenty of quality players and we all make an effort for one another – that’s why we have many different scorers.

“We really want to win something together and to do that, we cannot just rely on individuals, we must do it together.

“It’s the best way when you want to win trophies. We are all competitors, and competitors want to win.

“Juventus are a great club. Everybody knows their history, the great players who played there, the great players who still play there.

“They’re a great team, and they eliminated Barcelona who were also among the favourites.

“They showed they have what it takes to win the competition. But we also have qualities and we’ll do everything we can to get to the final.

“Buffon? He is a goalkeeper who has made his mark on history, one of the best in the world. I’m glad I’ll play against him.

“You work every day to play against players like him. When you do, you want to give your best to beat them.”

Socrates · May 1, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Alves: Barca win means nothing

http://www.football-italia.net/101947/alves-barca-win-means-nothing

May 1, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

Juventus’ Dani Alves claims “the biggest danger” against Monaco “would be to think that we’ve won the Champions League because we eliminated Barcelona.”

Juve face Monaco in the semi-finals, having avenged their defeat to Barca in the 2015 final by beating them 3-0 in this season’s last eight, but Alves made it clear the result had no bearing on their tie with the Principality outfit.

“Monaco underestimated? The biggest danger for this semi-final would be to think that we’ve already won the Champions League because we eliminated Barcelona,” the right-back told Premium Sport.

“The tie isn’t over yet, neither has the trophy has been won.

“We mustn’t think about going to Montecarlo for a walk. Monaco are a team that play without any worries, in a free and dangerous way.

“We’ll have to be calm and give everything at this stage, which is the most important of the season.

“There’s the chance to reach another Champions League final and that gives us a very strong motivation.

“Juve have gone far in recent years but haven’t won it, and we can’t go wrong again if we make the final.

“We want to improve with each day. At the start of the season, we wanted to get to this point, with the ability of competing on all fronts.

“We’re happy to still be competing for everything and we want to make history.

“I know about trebles? It seems easy, but the reality is that we work a lot.

“We have to do our work day after day, but we mustn’t think that this possibility doesn’t exist either. We can win everything and we want to dream.

“We haven’t done anything yet, but we’re close to winning every competition: we can write a wonderful story because I came here to do just that.”

Socrates · May 2, 2017

MONACO - JUVENTUS

SEMIFINALS - FIRST LEG

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 - 8:45 p.m.
Stade Louis II, Monaco

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Kylian Mbappe relishing Gianluigi Buffon battle

http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/as-monaco/champions-league

/news/mbappe-relishing-buffon-battle_297211.html

May 1, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

AS Monaco forward Kylian Mbappe has revealed that he is looking forward to facing Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Mbappe, 18, has scored 24 times in 52 appearances for Monaco this season, including five times in the 2016-17 Champions League, which has led to a host of speculation surrounding his future.

Buffon, meanwhile, is currently in his 16th season in the Juventus first team, but the veteran goalkeeper has not yet lifted the Champions League during a glittering career.

Monaco will welcome Juventus for the first leg of their European semi-final on Wednesday night, and Mbappe is confident that his team have the credentials to eliminate the Italian champions.

"He is a goalkeeper who has made his mark on history, one of the best in the world," Mbappe told UEFA's official website. "I'm glad I'll play against him. You work every day to play against players like him. When you do, you want to give your best to beat them.

"Juventus are a great club. Everybody knows their history, the great players who played there, the great players who still play there. They're a great team, and they eliminated Barcelona, who were also among the favourites.

"They showed they have what it takes to win the competition. But we also have qualities and we'll do everything we can to get to the final."

Buffon started his professional career with Parma in 1995, three years before Mbappe was born.

Accedi

JUVENTUS SEASON 2016-2017

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Socrates 8524

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Socrates 8524

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