Juventus v Atlético background – UEFA Champions League – News

Juventus have it all to do as Atlético Madrid come to Turin, two late first-leg goals in Spain having given the Liga side the advantage in the tie.

• The first leg looked set to end goalless only for Uruguayan defenders José María Giménez (78) and Diego Godín (83) to strike late on and give Atlético an invaluable cushion to take to Italy.

• Juventus, whose last two campaigns in the competition have ended in defeat by Spanish opposition, will need to rediscover their impressive home form against an Atlético side who have not lost in Italy in more than seven years.

• Both sides have reached the final twice in the past five seasons, Atlético losing to neighbours Real Madrid in 2014 and 2016 whereas Juve were beaten by Barcelona in 2015 and Real Madrid two years later.

Highlights: Atlético 2-0 Juventus

Previous meetings
• The sides were paired together in the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League group stage, when an Arda Turan goal gave Atlético a 1-0 win at their former home, the Vicente Calderón. Current Juve striker Mario Mandžukić was in the Atlético side, as were Diego Godín, Juanfran, Koke, Saúl Ñíguez and substitute Antoine Griezmann with Jan Oblak and José María Giménez unused replacements; Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci played for Juventus.

• The second game in Turin ended goalless, a result that meant Atlético finished first in the section and Juve second, though it was the Italian side that went on to reach that season’s final.

Form guide
Juventus
• This is Juventus’s tenth UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie (W6 L3); they have won the last two, defeating Tottenham 12 months ago (2-2 home, 2-1 away).

• Juve’s record in two-legged ties against Spanish clubs is W9 L7; their 2017/18 UEFA Champions League campaign ended in a dramatic quarter-final defeat by Real Madrid (0-3 home, 3-1 away).

• Juventus beat Young Boys (3-0) and Valencia (1-0) at home in this season’s group stage, either side of a 2-1 defeat by Manchester United on matchday four.

Juve's Cristiano Ronaldo at Atlético

Juve’s Cristiano Ronaldo at Atlético©AFP/Getty Images

• Before losing to Madrid last season, Juve were unbeaten in 27 home matches in UEFA competition (W16 D11), dating back to a 2-0 reverse against Bayern München in April 2013. They have still lost only three of their 36 European matches at the Juventus Stadium (W21 D12).

• Those defeats by Bayern and Madrid are Juve’s only home reverses in their last 26 knockout games in UEFA competition (W15 D9), qualifying included.

• Away (2-0) and home (1-0) wins against Valencia in this season’s group stage made it three wins in a row against Spanish sides for Juve. The Bianconeri have lost only one of their last 11 home matches with Liga visitors (W6 D4).

• Winners in 1985 and 1996, Juventus have played in nine European Cup finals – losing a record seven, including all of their last five.

• Juve have won 14 of the 32 UEFA ties in which they lost the away first leg; the most recent ended in defeat against Benfica in the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League semi-finals (1-2 away, 0-0 home). On each of the five occasions that the Bianconeri have lost the away game 2-0, they have succumbed to an aggregate defeat, most recently against Bayern München in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals (0-2 away, 0-2 home).

• Juventus’s record in six UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W3 L3:
2-3 v AC Milan, 2002/03 UEFA Champions League final
4-2 v Ajax, 1995/96 UEFA Champions League final
1-3 v Real Madrid, 1986/87 European Champion Clubs’ Cup second round
4-2 v Argentinos Juniors, 1985 European/South American Cup final
1-4 v Widzew Łódź, 1980/81 UEFA Cup second round
3-0 v Ajax, 1977/78 European Champion Clubs’ Cup quarter-final

Godín: Two saves and two rebounds defined the game

Godín: Two saves and two rebounds defined the game

Atlético
• Diego Simeone’s side are in the round of 16 for the fifth time in six seasons; in 2017/18 they failed to progress from their UEFA Champions League group, finishing third, but went on to win the UEFA Europa League.

• The Spanish side have won four of their five round of 16 ties, losing only the first – on away goals against Porto in 2008/09. Most recently, they beat Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 on aggregate in the 2016/17 competition (4-2 away, 0-0 home).

• Atlético’s record in two-legged knockout ties against Italian clubs is W4 L4. Their most recent contest was a 5-1 aggregate victory against AC Milan (1-0 away, 4-1 home) at this stage of the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League.

• This season, Atleti came from behind to win 2-1 at Monaco on matchday one before unexpectedly going down 4-0 at Dortmund on matchday three – their joint heaviest European defeat – before a goalless draw at Club Brugge.

• The defeat in Dortmund ended Atlético’s five-match winning run in European games, and is one of only two defeats in their last 21 matches in continental competition (W14 D5).

• Despite the defeat in Dortmund, Atlético have lost only two of their last ten European away games, although they have won only three.

• Los Colchoneros are unbeaten in their last four away matches against Italian clubs, drawing the last two 0-0 – at Juve in 2014 and Roma on matchday one last season. They did, however, lose on penalties to Real Madrid in Milan in the 2016 UEFA Champions League final after a 1-1 draw.

Atlético's former Juve striker Álvaro Morata in the first leg

Atlético’s former Juve striker Álvaro Morata in the first leg©Getty Images

• Atlético have won eight of their last ten games with Serie A sides, home and away (D2), since a 2-0 loss at Udinese in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League group stage.

• Simeone’s charges have already lifted European silverware this season, beating Real Madrid 4-2 in August’s UEFA Super Cup in Tallinn – making them the first team to win the competition on their first three appearances.

• The Rojiblancos have reached two UEFA Champions League and three UEFA Europa League finals in the last nine seasons.

• Atlético have won 30 of the 37 UEFA competition ties in which they have prevailed in the home first leg – including all of the last 19, most recently against Sporting CP in last season’s UEFA Europa League round of 16 (2-0 home, 0-1 away). That made it five qualifications out of five when the home first leg has finished 2-0.

• Atlético’s record in six UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L4:
3-5 v Real Madrid, 2015/16 UEFA Champions League final
8-7 v PSV Eindhoven, 2015/16 UEFA Champions League round of 16
3-2 v Bayer Leverkusen, 2014/15 UEFA Champions League round of 16
1-3 v Villarreal, 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup final
1-3 v Fiorentina, 1989/90 UEFA Cup first round
6-7 v Derby, 1974/75 UEFA Cup second round

Giorgio Chiellini urges on Juventus

Giorgio Chiellini urges on Juventus©AFP/Getty Images

Links and trivia
• Simeone played for Pisa, Internazionale and Lazio in Italy. He helped Juventus lift the Serie A title in May 2002 when he scored in Lazio’s 4-2 final-day win against Inter, allowing the Bianconeri to leapfrog Inter at the summit.

• Mandžukić joined Juve from Atlético in 2015. He spent one season in the Spanish capital, scoring 12 times in 28 Liga appearances.

• Atlético’s January signing Álvaro Morata played for Juventus between 2014 and 2016, scoring 27 goals in 93 games in all competitions for the Bianconeri including in both legs of the semi-final and the final of the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League.

• Cristiano Ronaldo played for Atleti’s city rivals Real Madrid – where he is the all-time leading scorer – between 2009 and 2018, scoring 311 Liga goals in 292 appearances and winning four UEFA Champions League titles. He scored in the 2014 defeat of Atlético and converted the winning penalty in the shoot-out two years later, also scoring a first-leg hat-trick in the 2017 semi-final. Ronaldo faced Atlético 31 times in all competitions, scoring 22 goals (W14 D9 L8).

• Have also played in Spain:
Sami Khedira (Real Madrid 2010–15)
João Cancelo (Valencia 2014–18)
Martín Cáceres (Recreativo Huelva 2007/08, Barcelona 2008/09, Sevilla 2010–12)

• Khedira was in the Madrid side that beat Atlético in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League final.

Diego Costa (right) holds off Leonardo Bonucci

Diego Costa (right) holds off Leonardo Bonucci©Getty Images

• Have played in Italy:
Stefan Savić (Fiorentina 2012–15)
Antonio Adán (Cagliari 2014)
Nikola Kalinić (Fiorentina 2015–17, AC Milan 2017/18)

• Adán made only two appearances for Cagliari, both in January 2014; the second was a 4-1 home defeat against Juventus.

• Jan Oblak was in the Benfica side that lost on penalties to Sevilla in the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League final at the Juventus Stadium.

• Antoine Griezmann, Lucas Hernández, Thomas Lemar and Blaise Matuidi were all part of France’s victorious FIFA 2018 World Cup squad. Griezmann converted a penalty and Croatia’s Mandžukić scored at both ends as France won 4-2 in the final.

• Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Mattia de Sciglio all started for Italy as they eliminated a Spain team featuring Juanfran from UEFA EURO 2016. Koke and Federico Bernardeschi were unused substitutes.

• International team-mates:
Rodrigo Bentancur, Martín Cáceres & Diego Godín, José María Giménez (Uruguay)
Alex Sandro, Douglas Costa & Filipe Luís (Brazil)
Juan Cuadrado & Santiago Arias (Colombia)
Paulo Dybala & Ángel Correa (Argentina)
Mario Mandžukić & Nikola Kalinić (Croatia)

• Have played together:
Juan Cuadrado & Diego Costa, Filipe Luís (Chelsea 2015)
Federico Bernardeschi & Nikola Kalinić (Fiorentina 2015–17)
Federico Bernardeschi & Stefan Savić (Fiorentina 2014/15)  
Leonardo Bonucci & Nikola Kalinić (AC Milan 2017/18)
Cristiano Ronaldo & Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid 2010–14, 2016/17)
Sami Khedira & Álvaro Morata (Real Madrid 2010–14)

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*