UEFA Champions League
JUVENTUS TO MISS RONALDO IN BARCELONA CLASH
Andrea Pirlo sees positives despite preparing for his biggest match since taking over as Juventus coach with Covid-19 -stricken Cristiano Ronaldo in doubt against Lionel Messi’s Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday (Oct 28).
Pirlo took over after Maurizio Sarri was sacked immediately after Juventus’ last 16 exit to Lyon in August, the veteran coach lamenting another failure in a “competition cursed for Juve”.
The Turin side have won the tournament twice, but not since 1996. They have been runners-up seven times, including twice in the last five years.
In fact, 41-year-old Pirlo’s last Juventus game as a player came in the 3-1 loss to Barcelona in the 2015 Champions League final.
Juventus signed Portuguese star Ronaldo in 2018 with the aim of lifting the coveted European trophy, and his absence against Messi’s Barcelona could weigh heavy.
The 35-year-old will need to test negative 24 hours before being allowed to feature in Turin. The return at the Camp Nou is on December 8.
“We miss him right now, of course,” said Colombian teammate Juan Cuadrado. “He’s a champion. In these very difficult matches, his strength, his mentality and his desire shine through.”
Ronaldo scored three goals for Juventus in their first two league games, before contracting the virus while on international duty.
Even if Pirlo has yet to record a loss this season, Juventus are fifth in Serie A, with three draws in five games.
“Barcelona? It doesn’t worry me, they are two different matches,” said Pirlo after Sunday’s 1-1 stalemate against Hellas Verona.
“Verona play differently than Barcelona, against teams that play like this you have to prepare a certain type of match.
“We’re in the construction phase,” continued the novice coach.
“We’re sorry to leave points on the road, but we are on the right path. We are building a long-term project. I only see positive things.”
Pirlo’s main weapons in Ronaldo’s absence have been Spanish forward Alvaro Morata, who scored both goals against Dynamo Kiev, and Swedish striker Dejan Kulusevski, who rescued the point against Verona.
Former Chelsea and Real Madrid player Morata returned to Juventus this season with Kulusevski signed from Atalanta in January before being loaned back immediately to Parma.
The 20-year-old Swede was up and running immediately, scoring on his club debut in September and came off the bench to give Juventus the edge against Verona.
Pirlo has also been impressed with how Paulo Dybala performed “well above expectations,” in his seasonal debut against Verona after over three months out.
Captain Giorgio Chiellini’s presence is in doubt, with fellow defender Leonardo Bonucci’s thigh strain being monitored, although Gianluca Frabotta, 21, has stepped into the breach, with Alex Sandro also out.
“Seeing how we started the other championships, this start has been a bit slow,” said Cuadrado of the nine-time reigning Italian champions.
“But we haven’t lost yet.” Both teams won their Group G openers with Barcelona beating Hungarians Ferencvaros 5-1 and Juventus 2-0 at Dynamo Kiev.
If Ronaldo misses his chance to line out on Wednesday he will have to wait until December to renew his rivalry with Argentine Messi.
They are the two greatest players of their generation with 11 Ballons d’Or between them, and the two highest scorers in Champions League history.
They have not faced off since the Portuguese superstar left Real Madrid for Juventus, and both are running out of time to win the Champions League again.
Messi, now 33, has featured in four victorious campaigns, all with Barcelona, while Ronaldo has won it five times, four with Real Madrid and once with Manchester United.
Ronaldo has 130 Champions league goals, of which ten have been for Juventus, to Messi’s 116.
Messi has won 16 of their 35 encounters to Ronaldo’s 10, with the remaining nine ending in draws. Messi has also scored 22 goals in those games to Ronaldo’s 19.
The pair have only met five times in Champions League games, most recently in the semi-final in 2011.
Barcelona got the better of Real Madrid with a 3-1 aggregate win with Messi scoring twice in the first leg.
Their most memorable clash was the 2009 Champions League final when Messi scored as Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0.
-AFP
UEFA Champions League
David strikes as Lille end Real’s long unbeaten run
A first-half penalty earned Lille a shock 1-0 home victory over holders Real Madrid in the Champions League group phase on Wednesday, ending the 15-times European Cup winners’ 14-game unbeaten run in the competition.
Jonathan David converted from the spot three minutes into first-half stoppage time to hand Real, who had not lost in their previous 36 matches in all competitions, their first defeat since January.
The result put Ligue 1 side Lille on three points from two games in the new format of Europe’s premier club competition.
Real, who won their opening match against VfB Stuttgart, are also on three points.
“On the penalty, I try to focus, to keep calm to take a good shot but I’m confident when it comes to taking penalties,” David said. “It has not sunk in yet but it’s a memorable night.”
Real keeper Andriy Lunin said his team had lacked their usual aggression.
“It’s difficult to analyse right after. (We lacked) aggression, creativity, in the end, what we always have,” he said.
“To fight a bit more. In the second half we showed more desire, but in the first half we were worse, that’s obvious. We want to win because we know what colours we’re playing in. But that’s OK. Courage, keep working and prepare for the next game.”
Carlo Ancelotti’s side started with Kylian Mbappe, who joined from Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain in June, on the bench after the France captain picked up a muscle injury last week.
Real’s Vinicius Jr. had the first chance with a low shot in the sixth minute as the visitors controlled the pace and the second came when Endrick’s close-range attempt was blocked by Lucas Chevalier.
Lille went close to opening the scoring after 26 minutes when Andriy Lunin made a spectacular double save to deny David, first from the forward’s header, then by tipping away the Canadian’s follow-up shot.
Their relentless pressure paid off in stoppage time when Eduardo Camavinga handled Edon Zhegrova’s free kick.
A VAR review ensued and David confidently converted the resulting penalty.
The hosts continued to apply pressure in the second half, refusing to sit back and wait as Real enjoyed possession, cutting off the supply to England midfielder Jude Bellingham.
Ancelotti sent Mbappe and Luka Modric on to replace Endrick and Eder Militao and Lille survived a late Real onslaught to hang on for the victory.
-Reuters
UEFA Champions League
Ancelotti makes no excuses after Real’s shock defeat at Lille
Defending champions Real Madrid failed to show the best version of themselves in a shock 1-0 Champions League defeat at Lille on Wednesday and must accept the criticism that comes their way, manager Carlo Ancelotti said.
Lille pressed relentlessly and took the win courtesy of a Jonathan David penalty in first-half stoppage time to hand Ancelotti’s team their first defeat in all competitions since January.
Real Madrid – record 15-times Champions League winners – have three points after two matches following their opening win over VfB Stuttgart.
“Everything was pretty bad. We did badly with the ball, although the team was quite compact in the first half, it was difficult for us to recover the ball, it was difficult for us to make transitions,” Ancelotti told reporters.
“We tried to be a little more aggressive, but it was difficult for us. So… We have to look at things with a cool head, not throw everything away. But obviously we have to improve.
“I am very sincere. The criticism for today’s game is fair, correct and we have to accept it because it is like that. We have not shown a good version in this game.”
Ancelotti said Lille “deserved” to win despite Real’s improved showing in the second half of the match.
“It was difficult for us to get into the game at the level of intensity, at the level of duels, at the level of clarity of play,” the Italian added.
“Obviously, the game could have been tied because we had opportunities at the end, but it wasn’t deserved.
“So we have to learn, as it happened the last time we lost a game, learn from what we have to improve, which is quite clear. I think it’s not very complicated.”
Real, who are second in the LaLiga standings with 18 points, next host third-placed Villarreal on Saturday.
-Reuters
UEFA Champions League
Lookman shines as Atalanta outclass Shakhtar
Ademola Lookman scored one goal and was heavily involved in the other two to drive Atalanta to a 3-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday as the Italians outclassed their Ukrainian opponents in Gelsenkirchen.
Atalanta have four points from two games, having held Arsenal to a 0-0 draw in their opening match, and Shakhtar remained on one point, after they played out a scoreless draw in the first game against Italian side Bologna.
Atalanta went ahead in the 21st minute when Lookman curled a cross into the area which found Berat Djimsiti in front of goal and he controlled the ball before poking it past the keeper.
Atalanta doubled the lead a minute before the break when Sead Kolasinac squared a pass to Lookman in the middle of the area and the Nigerian struck a first-time shot through the legs of his marker Marlon Gomes into the bottom corner of the net.
The game was all but over as a contest three minutes into the second half after Lookman played the ball out wide to Davide Zappacosta and his cross into the six-yard box was headed home by Raoul Bellanova.
At 3-0, Lookman, who also hit the crossbar in the first half, was taken off with over half an hour to play, his work done for the night and the tie ended with the same scoreline as the last time the sides met in the Champions League in 2019.
-Reuters
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