Mixed results for the two Italians involved in the Wednesday matches Champions League. The Juve suffers in the first half but then beat Pafos 2-0. Same result in Portugal, but against the Napoli against Mourinho’s Benfica.
Bianconeri booed after the first 46′
Second success in a row second in a row for the Bianconeri, who they rise to 9 points in the standings increasing the chances of qualification. However, the evening had not started in the right direction and we must start from the end of the first half and the whistles at the Allianz Stadium, to describe what was a very badly made first part of the match. A curling shot by Yildiz in the 8th minute deflected into a dive by Michail and, above all, a touch in front of goal by David who missed the target in the 42nd minute after Kelly’s headed assist are the noteworthy episodes of the first 45 minutes in which, instead, a Pafos without any awe He was appreciated for his resourcefulness and personality.
Right from the start, the Cypriot team presented themselves with good regularity near Di Gregorio’s goal and the clearest opportunity was the one that occurred in the 32nd minute at the feet of Anderson Silva who with a right-footed shot at the height of the penalty spot hit the post to the goalkeeper’s left, while in the 33rd minute on a corner taken by Orsic it was Dragomir who tried with a right-footed volley that forced Di Gregorio to deflect over the crossbar.
In the second half, Juventus was more enterprising. In the 4th minute Yildiz doesn’t find the winning tap-in on a shot from outside by Koopmeiners deflected by Michail. In the quarter of an hour the Cypriot goalkeeper sacrifices himself to block a close-range shot from Conceicao with his body. Prelude to the Juventus advantage that comes with McKennie al 22′: found by Cambaso, the American leaps past an opponent and from a tight angle puts the ball into the top corner at the near post. Another six minutes and Juventus doubled their lead which effectively closed the match: from a play by Coinceicao in midfield, who was good at wriggling between two opponents, the ball ended up on the left to Yildiz who served David was quick to stop the ball and beat Michail low.
Napoli also falls in Lisbon, Conte loses the challenge with Mourinho
Conte’s team loses 2-0 against Benfica and collects the third defeat in the eventafter those with Manchester City e Psv. One goal in each half (20′ Rios, 49′ Barreiro) for Mourinho’s eleven, who lined up their second success in the Champions League, after the 2-0 away win over Ajax, and rose to 25th position with 6 points, just one point behind Napoli. The Portuguese started better, becoming dangerous in the 12th minute with a curling shot from Aursnes who was just wide.
A few minutes later, it was again the Benfica midfielder who snatched the opening goal: in the 18th minute Milinkovic-Savic misses the disengagement in the build-up phase, Aursnes recovers the ball and has the opportunity to shoot from a favorable position, but misses the target from a few steps away. In the 20th minute, Mourinho’s team broke the deadlock: cross from Dahl’s midfield, McTominay tried to clear but the ball ended up in the small area following a rebound, with Rios taking advantage of the indecision of the Neapolitan rearguard to beat Milinkovic-Savic.
Timid reaction from Napoli in the second half of the first half, but Conte’s eleven finished the initial 45 minutes without any shots on target defended by Trubin. At the start of the second half the Portuguese widened the gap: in the 49th minute Rios escaped from McTominay, served Barreiro in the middle, who with a great heel turn a not very reactive Milinkovic-Savic surprises. Napoli stunned by the goal conceded and the pace returning to a low level with Benfica in control. The first real outburst for Conte’s men was signed by Neres, who warmed up Trubin’s gloves in the 71st minute with a central left-footed shot from 25 metres. The hosts leave the ball in the hands of Napoli, without suffering excessively from the final pressing of Conte’s men and taking home three fundamental points. For the Italian champions the the road to the play-offs is uphill.