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Tag: JUVENTUS

  • Europa: Feyenoord beat Roma, Juventus defeat Sporting CP, eye semi-final ticket

    Europa: Feyenoord beat Roma, Juventus defeat Sporting CP, eye semi-final ticket

    Dutch side, Feyenoord took a step toward the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday after beating Italian side, AS Roma in the first leg of the two teams’ last-eight clash.

    Forward Mats Wieffer scored the only goal that gave Eredivisie leaders Feyenoord a slender lead to take to Rome at Rotterdam’s De Kuip stadium.

    The 23-year-old’s third goal of the season was just enough for the Dutch outfit to see off Roma in a rematch of last season’s Conference League final which was won by the Italians.

    Wieffer was almost the villain of the piece after being penalized for handball and giving Roma a penalty just before the break which Lorenzo Pellegrini smashed off the post.

    Jose Mourinho’s side can consider themselves unlucky not to have got something from the game as Roger Ibanez’s header was headed onto the bar in the 63rd minute by Oussama Idrissi, the man who set up Wieffer’s winner.

    Roma, who sit third in Serie A, will have the chance to overturn the deficit when the teams meet again in the Italian capital next Thursday.

    They might have to be without forwards Tammy Abraham and Paulo Dybala who were both substituted with injuries, a worry also for their fight for a place in next season’s Champions League.

    Similarly, In a game that saw Massimiliano Allegri finally send out an attack-minded setup with most of his best attacking players, it was Gatti who proved decisive. He was already a man of the match candidate for his defensive play when he popped up at the right place at the right time to poke home a rebound after a corner kick.

    It was his first goal with Juventus and in the top flight, and it provided all the difference in the Old Lady’s 1-0 win over Sporting CP in the first leg of their Europa League quarterfinal.

  • Europa: Di Maria’s hat-trick sends Juventus into last 16

    Europa: Di Maria’s hat-trick sends Juventus into last 16

    Angel Di Maria scored a hat-trick on Thursday as Juventus thumped 10-man Nantes 3-0 to reach the Europa League round of 16.

    Juventus who are playing away qualified on a 4-1 aggregate.

    They played to a 1-1 draw against the French side in the home leg as they eyed a long run in the European competition to boost a miserable campaign in which they have been deducted 15 Serie A points for financial irregularities.

    “I am happy with the performance, it was not an easy game after the first-leg result, as the crowd here is very passionate.

    “Just because we were eliminated from the Champions League does not mean it will be easy to win the Europa League. It isn’t, but we have the duty to try and go all the way, just as we do in Serie A,” Juve manager Massimiliano Allegri, said.

    Argentine Di Maria put Juventus ahead after five minutes with a delightful curling strike from the edge of the box into the top corner.

    The evening got worse for Nantes after 18 minutes when defender Nicolas Pallois was sent off for using his arm to stop another goal from Di Maria and the 35-year-old Argentine player had no problem converting the penalty.

    Filip Kostic was close to getting a third for Juventus in first-half stoppage time, but his shot hit the inside of the post and the rebound landed in the hands of Nantes keeper Alban Lafont.

    Juve’s Alex Sandro sent in a diving header late in the second half but Lafont was down quickly to make an impressive one-handed save.

    Di Maria completed his treble 12 minutes from time when he sent in a glancing header and the ball just crossed the line before being pushed away.

    It was Juve’s first hat-trick in a UEFA competition away from home since Filippo Inzaghi in 2000.

    “He is a champion and different to the others,” Allegri said.

    “Everything comes easily to him, he raises the overall level of the squad and the others all feel more relaxed in his presence. Di Maria is in the category of real champions.”

    In other encounters, PSV humbled Sevilla 2-0, Midtjylland lost 0-4 to Sporting CP, Union Berlin overpowered Ajax 3-1, Roma ran away with a 2-1 defeat of RB Salzburg, while Manchester United defeated Barcelona 2-1.

    The draw for the round of 16 will be held on Friday.

  • Serie A: Juventus deducted 15 points for transfer deals

    Serie A: Juventus deducted 15 points for transfer deals

    Juventus have been deducted 15 points for the current season by an Italian football court investigating their transfer dealings, leaving the country’s most successful team standing mid-table in Serie A.

    The ruling, which also deals a blow to the club’s reputation, is tougher than a nine-point deduction a football prosecutor had requested earlier on Friday during a hearing.

    The hearing was looking at the way Juventus and a number of other teams dealt with player exchange deals.

    With 20 games left to play this season, Juve were third in Serie A with 37 points, 10 behind leaders Napoli.

    The deduction pushes them down into 10th place, outside the qualifying spots for lucrative European competition.

    In a late night statement, the court also imposed bans from holding office in Italian football on 11 past and present Juventus directors.

    These included 24 months for Andrea Agnelli, who was replaced this week as chairman after formally stepping down in November.

    Former sports director, Fabio Paratici, now managing director of football at England’s Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, was also handed 30 months.

    Juventus said it would appeal to the country’s Sport Guarantee Board once the reasons for the ruling were published.

    “We consider this to be a blatant injustice also for millions of fans, which we trust will soon be remedied in the next court,” lawyers for the club said in a statement.

    Juventus have denied wrongdoing and said their accounting was in line with industry standards.

    The club is controlled by the Agnelli family’s Exor holding company and its shares are listed on the Milan stock exchange.

    The ruling reversed a previous decision in April to clear Juventus, 10 other clubs and their executives of wrongdoing.

    Football authorities had reopened the case and requested the partial cancellation of the initial decision.

    This was to enable them assess new documents collected by public prosecutors in the city of Turin who are investigating the finances of Juventus.

    The court confirmed the acquittal of eight other football clubs, including Serie A’s Sampdoria and Empoli, and their directors, for whom prosecutors had also wanted to reopen the case.

    Public prosecutors in Turin have requested Andrea Agnelli, 11 other people and the club itself to stand trial over allegations of false accounting.

    Juventus shareholders earlier this week appointed a new slimmed-down five-member board, with Gianluca Ferrero appointed to replace Andrea Agnelli as chairman after over 10 years.

    Ferrero is an accountant close to John Elkann, the senior business figure in the family that has owned the club for a century.

  • Osimhen grabs brace in Napoli’s 5-1 thumping of Juventus

    Osimhen grabs brace in Napoli’s 5-1 thumping of Juventus

    Nigerian forward, Victor Osimhen grabbed a brace and provided two assists in Napoli’s 5-1 humiliation of Juventus at the Diego Maradona stadium on Friday in the Italian Serie A.

    The game meant Napoli are ten points clear on the top of the Scudetto league standing.

    The Nigeria international headed in a rebound effort after Wojciech Szczesny had parried Kvicha Kvaratskhelia volley from 12 yards in the 15th minute for his 12th Serie A goal (36th league goal) of the season and his 40th for the Napoli since he joined the club.

    In the 39th minute, the former Lille striker made an assist for his side’s second goal after he intelligently rolled the ball across for Kvaratskhelia to sweep home from 10 yards out before Angel Di Maria halved the deficit with a sublime strike inside the box.

    A stunning strike from the edge of the box from Amir Rrahmani restored Napoli’s two goal cushion before Osimhen made it 4-1 with his second header of the game to become the joint top fifth most prolific African goal-scorer in Serie A with Keita Balde.

    It was the first time Osimhen would be scoring against Juventus since he joined from Lille Metropole in  2020.

    The strike also ended Juventus’s unbeaten run of eight games in the Serie A and Szczesny’s eight straight clean sheets which lasted for 770 minutes.

    The gangling striker now leads the pack with 12 goals from 16 games and he’s in the running for the Scudetto’s golden boot award.

    Lautaro Martinez, Marko Arnautovic and M’Bala Nzola comes second third and fourth on the scorer’s chart.

    African record in the Serie A shows that George Weah leads the pack with 46 goals while the trio Gervinho,Mohamed Kallon and Khouma Babacar are joint second with 39 goals.

     

  • The discipline of Ronaldo was unbelievable – Pogba

    The discipline of Ronaldo was unbelievable – Pogba

    Juventus midfielder, Paul Pogba has shared his experience with Cristiano Ronaldo during their time together at Manchester United.

    The Frenchman and the Portuguese have had two stints with the Red Devils and have represented Juventus during the course of their careers.

    But the France international only shared the pitch with Ronaldo last season and has a lot to say about the former Real Madrid man’s attitude to the game.

    “The discipline of Ronaldo was unbelievable – I’ve never seen this. The discipline is on another level,” Pogba told
    Field of Sports.

    “Someone that’s been there every single day and doesn’t stop – that’s Cristiano.

    “Every day! Some days you’re like, I’m ok! But he doesn’t miss one day. His discipline to do it every single day – this is something.”

  • Szczesny breaks silence as first player to speak on Juve crisis

    Szczesny breaks silence as first player to speak on Juve crisis

    Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has become the first Juventus player to speak publicly about the club’s board crisis.

    Juve president Andrea Agnelli and his board resigned on Monday.

    After playing for Poland in their World Cup defeat to Argentina, Szczesny said: “I am very sorry because president Agnelli is a great man.

    “But life goes on and we will still give everything for the shirt despite the chaos of these days.”

    On the defeat last night, where he denied Leo Messi from the penalty spot, Szczesny added: “It’s nice to parry the second penalty in a row, they are beautiful moments for a footballer’s career. Living moments like this is just beautiful. It also takes some luck. It is very strange when you just need a tie but you play with the strongest attackers in the world, defending deep is not enough.”

  • Serie A: Juventus president, entire board announce resignation

    Serie A: Juventus president, entire board announce resignation

    The entire board of Italian club Juventus, including president Andrea Agnelli, have resigned.

    The Serie A club finished fourth in the league last season and made a €254.3m (£220m) loss – a record in Italy.

    Last November, Juventus said they were co-operating with police after an investigation was launched into the club’s transfers.

    The investigation concerned “revenues from player registration rights” between 2019 and 2021.

    Agnelli and vice-president Pavel Nedved, who is also stepping down, were among those under investigation.

    The board have stepped down en masse “having considered the centrality and relevance of pending legal and accounting issues”, said a statement.

    The outgoing board “considered to be in the best social interest to recommend that Juventus equip itself with a new board of directors to address these issues,” the statement added.

    Managing director Maurizio Arrivabene will remain in his role for an interim period while a new board is brought together.

    Agnelli was one of the chief architects of the breakaway plans to form the European Super League in 2021.

    Juve, who are listed on the Italian stock exchange, are being investigated for allegations of presenting false accounting information to investors and producing invoices for non-existent transactions.

    The club has denied any wrongdoing.

    Other clubs are also the subject of a parallel investigation which was launched by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in October.

    Shareholders are set to meet again on 18 January to appoint the new board, the club said.

    BBC

  • FULL DRAW: Barca paired against Man U for Europa League last 16 spot

    FULL DRAW: Barca paired against Man U for Europa League last 16 spot

    FC Barcelona will face Manchester United in the 2022/2023 Europa League play-offs for a chance to reach the last 16.

    The Spanish side were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League and were only third in their group after a disappointing campaign.

    Manchester United, meanwhile, were second in their Europa League group, behind Real Sociedad.

    Juventus, another giant coming from the UEFA Champions League ranks, will face Nantes following the draw on Monday.

    German sides Union Berlin and Bayer Leverkusen will face Ajax and AS Monaco respectively.

    Other match-ups include Sporting Lisbon versus Midtjylland, Shakhtar Donetsk versus Rennes, Sevilla versus PSV Eindhoven and Red Bull Salzburg v AS Roma.

    The first leg matches of the ties are scheduled for Feb. 16, with the second leg matches a week later on Feb. 23.

    The Europa League knockout round play-offs were introduced last season.

    The eight runners-up from the competition’s group stage face the third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage.

    The winners of the ties advance to the round of 16, joining the eight Europa League group winners.

  • UCL: City into last 16, Juventus crash as Mbappe breaks record

    UCL: City into last 16, Juventus crash as Mbappe breaks record

    Manchester City are through to the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds even though they were held 0-0 at Copenhagen on Tuesday.

    They played without Erling Haaland, while also missing a penalty kick and having Sergio Gomez red-carded.

    However, the English champions advanced with two games to spare because Sevilla did not win the other group game which they drew 1-1 at Borussia Dortmund.

    They were the only club to clinch a last-16 berth on the night, because Borussia Dortmund did not win while reigning champions Real Madrid were held 1-1 at Shakhtar Donetsk.

    The match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Benfica also did not have a winner after a 1-1 draw.

    Elsewhere, Maccabi Haifa stunned Juventus 2-0, while visiting Chelsea won 2-0 at 10-man AC Milan.

    Dinamo Zagreb and Salzburg drew 1-1, just as German side RB Leipzig prevailed 2-0 at Celtic.

    Bayern Munich, Liverpool and others can also clinch the last 16 berths on Wednesday.

    England international Jude Bellingham cancelled out Sevilla’s lead from Tanguy Nianzou for Borussia Dortmund which meant that Manchester City advanced from Group G with two games to spare.

    This was in spite of a frustrating night in Copenhagen in which they dropped their first points.

    Norwegian star striker Haaland was not a starter for the first time, after netting 20 times in his opening 13 games for Manchester City.

    Manager Pep Guardiola had claimed he was “so tired”.

    Moreover, this has come six days after they had hammered Copenhagen 5-0 with a Haaland brace.

    Rodri had a stunning strike into the top corner disallowed after a video review because Riyad Mahrez was deemed to have handled the ball in the build-up.

    Mahrez then failed to convert a penalty kick against home goalkeeper Kamil Grabara, given for handball upon review.

    And a third video review led to Manchester City defender Sergio Gomez red-carded for a last-man foul on Hakan Arnar Haraldsson at the half-hour mark.

    “We started really well with 11. Then we had an hour and 10 minutes to hang on. When we had the ball we were clever. (But) it’s a good point,” Guardiola said.

    PSG have to wait to qualify after their second 1-1 with Benfica in Group G.

    With Lionel Messi not fit to play on a turbulent day, amid speculation on the future of teammate Kylian Mbappe, France forward made it a club record.

    He scored his 31st goal in the competition from the penalty kick spot in the 40th minute.

    Mbappe curled inches wide right after the restart but Benfica were level when they also got a penalty kick which was calmly converted by Joao Mario in the 62nd minute.

    The two sides are a win away from advancing as they are five points ahead of Juve and Maccabi Haifa.

    Omar Atzili got a first-half brace to delight the Israeli hosts and add further misery to the Italian visitors.

    “We knew it would be a complicated game against a very well-organised Benfica team. We started very well, played to win and finished the first half well.

    “In the second half we looked for the goal until the end, but we didn’t have that chance,” PSG defender Danilo said.

    Real Madrid would have needed victory in Warsaw against Shakhtar Donetsk to progress from Group F.

    But, instead, the hosts led from Oleksandr Zubkov shortly after the restart.

    This was before Antonio Rüdiger headed a stoppage-time equaliser for the record champions at the expense of a head injury in a collision.

    Real Madrid are four points ahead of RB Leipzig who beat Celtic after late goals by Timo Werner and Emil Forsberg.

    Now, 2021 champions Chelsea have climbed from last to first in Group E with two wins over AC Milan.

    The hosts had former Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori sent off for a last-man foul and Jorginho converted the ensuing penalty kick to put the Blues 1-0 up.

    AC Milan striker Olivier Giroud missed a glorious chance to equalise against his former club and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang got the second before the break.

    Chelsea are one point ahead of RB Salzburg, with Zagreb and AC Milan another two behind in a wide open group.

  • My desire is to retire with Boca Juniors – Juve midfielder

    My desire is to retire with Boca Juniors – Juve midfielder

    Juventus midfielder Leandro Paredes reveals his dream of retiring with Boca Juniors.

    The Argentine only just signed for Juve from PSG.

    But he told ESPN: “I have not set a date to return, you never know.

    “I have a long contract with Juventus, returning to Boca would make everyone happy.

    “There will be one day, it is the greatest dream I have, I said it when I left: my desire is to retire with the Boca Juniors shirt.”