It will be interesting to see how Italy set up over the summer. The 3-5-2 can support but also expose Pirlo whenever the other CMs and WB position themselves high up the field when Juve are on the ball. A direct ball that gets turned over leaves Pirlo alone and chasing. Benfica nearly made Juve pay twice on such situations. When sitting back defensively without the ball, Pirlo certainly has a lot of cover though.
the crazy thing is that Benfica have Salvio, Silvio and Gaitan all injured and still won and dominated large portions of the game this game belongs in the CL
I've watched it a few times here. I think it's fair to say that Pirlo should absolutely have done better. It was a nice play. However Caceres and Bonucci are both marking the same person/space. From the video, Bonucci sees what is happening but doesn't attack the ball as it's played in the area. Even if it's not his fault why not try to make a play directly on the ball? If he doesn't get there at least he could try to put Lima off. Instead Lima gets a very clean hit. Actually from the first GIF you provided it seems like Bonucci recognizes the play yet hesitates. He takes a step toward the direction of the space in which Lima ends up in. Maybe I'm a little high on my expectations after watching Real's CBs react incredibly well the day before. Seeing Real yesterday defend for their lives in the dying minutes of that game, it just seems that Juve haven't been able to get to that level of concentration this year in Europe. It is another level.
The dummy made the play and froze a few people but look where Lima started. Bonucci could have done better to close the play but Lima was Pirlo's mark.
Pirlo does play defense but he is not particularly good at marking an opponent. It happens like it did today.
Neither team dominated, but each had dominant spells of play. Benfica were missing players, but so were Juve. Vidal, Llorente, and Barzagli all regular starters were out. The game was decided by a few moments that went Benfica's way. A draw would have been fair, but it's not surprising that Benfica won at home. Agreed. Man to man, Pirlo should have done better seeing as Lima is directly behind him on the build up. The dummy was a brilliant play. Ideally Pirlo and Bonucci both converge on the play and either Lima gets interrupted or the shot is blocked. I'm probably being a little harsh on Bonucci, but a really world class defender could have destroyed that play.
It's fair to say that Bonucci was 100% at fault on the first goal. He foolishly tried to bump his man when an attempt at a clearance would have been better.
Isn't a 2-1 loss away from home a good result? I would tend to think so. If Juve win 1-0 at home, they are through so I don't see any reason to panic just yet. I do not foresee them losing at the Juventus Stadium . I'm not sure but since they built the place, I don't think Juve has ever lost there. Well maybe once or twice but that is about it.
I think Juve lost to Inter there last year which broke their undefeated run. They were also well beaten by Bayern at home as well. The result overall isn't too bad given the away goal, but for the winner to come so late in the game shortly after tying is a pity. They certainly can overturn the result at home, but it will be a nervy affair. Benfica could just as easily escape with a tie in the same way Galatasaray and Real were able to this year. If Juve come out the way they did at home vs Napoli, Roma, or vs Real (1st half), then 2-0 or 3-0 seems imaginable. If they came out like they have in other instances a tie could be in the cards. It will be interesting to see how Juve deal with the pressure if they do have an advantage at the closing stages. Should be fun to watch.
I'd play offensively and flood the goal early and that way they will be back tracking. I haven't seen Benfica lately but I doubt they are a better team than Juve.
Neither Gala nor Copenhagen were better teams going into their ties. Juve certainly didn't have it easy vs either. Something about these Euro ties where mental mistakes they wouldn't normally make in Serie A seem to happen. If they play a solid clean game and progress it could very well be their best overall performance in Europe since beating Chelsea 3-0 in Turin (although again Real at times they looked fantastic). My gut says it could be that type of performance, but who knows. If it is, that is growth!
I dont feel safe with only 1-0 lead i think the team knows this too....imagine if we're up 1-0 and its 5 to 10 min left to the game, we would be all nervous and benfica would be pressing....at that point a late goal will make it 1-1 and we will lose. we need to come out firing and at least build a 2 goal cushion. im glad we at least got tevez back, he's the only forward we have that can do something with the ball...the rest are pretty useless on their feet and beating their opponents.
Can't beat Benfica on the field so have to run to Platini to take care of it off it. Classic. So much for fair play.
Question which I'm sure has been asked and answered to death but I'm getting old and forget...If an Italian team, (in this case Juventus) wins the UEFA/EUROPA League, what does that team or what benefits does the (league) Serie A get? Do they get an automatic birth in the CL or EL spot or does that mean Italy gets another spot in Europe?
‘Do UEFA want Juve in final?’ By Football Italia staff Benfica’s director of communications Joao Gabriel has hinted that UEFA want Juventus to progress to the Europa League final. His comments come after European football’s governing body made the decision to open disciplinary proceedings against Enzo Perez for his alleged elbow on Juve’s Giorgio Chellini during last week’s semi-final first leg between the sides. The Old Lady made a complaint to UEFA about the incident, but Benfica are outraged that the decision to take action was only made yesterday, meaning that they now have only 21 hours to respond to the accusations. “Benfica would like to know whether UEFA are more interested in sporting integrity or seeing to it that Juventus reach the final in Turin,” Gabriel said to Portuguese outlet A Bola. “We now have only 21 hours after finding out about this to respond to the accusations.”
Did I not answer this once before for you? Or for someone else? This year, the winner gets an automatic berth to the EL. Next year, to the CL. If the team already would qualify, nothing extra.
Therefore, whether they win it all or not, they and Italy gets nothing. Doesn't sound all that great to me....
Sadly, I turned 48 on Saturday and my ex Sicilian GF was at the party and she gave me a HEX! ARGGHHHH!