Experience beat youth last night in the first leg of semi-final, as Juventus gain an away goal lead and move one step closer to a potential Champions League title.
It was a nail biting first 20 minutes. Monaco’s attacks looked promising, but the pace and young talent weren’t able to get anything past Buffon, who pulled of some world class saves and showed his reactions are as fast as ever.
The game’s first goal came within the first 30 minutes and was the finishing product of a fantastic team move which started from Buffon, with some fancy heel-flicks that set the ball up for Higuian to bury it into the bottom corner.
Not taking any chances, Juventus came out from half time with a tactical change, putting 5 defenders at the back; they had their lead and they wanted to keep it. And, it worked. The defence looked impenetrable as Monaco struggled to find their way through a structured and organised back 5.
A quick counter attack finished the game for Juventus. Dani Alves set up Higuian, for the second time in the game, with a chipped cross at the back post that fell perfectly at the Argentine’s feet.
Monaco’s Champions League dreams have not been completely diminished, as we all know, anything can happen in the Champions League. However, the result of last night’s game leaves the France Ligue 1 leaders with a pretty big challenge for the youngsters to overcome at the Stade Louis II next week.
If things stay the same in both semi-finals, we’ll see Juventus face Real Madrid in the final, which would be a very interesting game. Could the tightest defence in Europe hold off in form Ronaldo?
