Manchester City hadn't given up a goal all season long heading into their Champions League group-stage match against Juventus. But in a bizarre and exciting second half they managed to give up two to Juventus, dropping the contest in shocking fashion, 2-1.
Following Giorgio Chiellini's controversial own goal—the defender appeared to be fouled by Vincent Kompany before unintentionally heading into his own net—forwards Mario Mandzukic and Alvaro Morata answered with goals of their own, giving Juventus the win and continuing City's woes in the Champions League.
City will surely be shellshocked by the result. The Citizens held 59 percent of possession, outshot the Italians 13-10 (5-3 on goal) and earned six corners to a measly one for Juventus, per ESPN FC.
City nearly opened the scoring in the game's early minutes, as Fernandinho forced a Juventus turnover in the midfield and raced forward. He slid a pass to Raheem Sterling on the left side of the box, and the former Liverpool man ripped a quick shot toward goal. Gianluigi Buffon was up to the task, however, saving the effort, and the ball was cleared before David Silva could deposit the rebound in the back of the net.
Juan Cuadrado, one of the top performers in the first half, found himself with space to shoot at the 31st-minute mark but pushed his shot wide. Still, he was a bright spot for Juventus, per Oliver Holt of the Daily Mail:
Moments later, Wilfried Bony almost had a goal of his own for Manchester City after pulling off a bit of brilliant skill, per Tom Williams of AFP:
Fernandinho came close to finally breaking through for City in the 40th minute, as a Juventus clearance attempt bounced to his feet outside of the box. But his slicing, rocket of a shot soared just wide of the net.
The majority of the opening half was all about City possession and Juventus' traditional, resolute defending. The Citizens held 58 percent of possession and outshot their opponents, 8-4 (1-0 on goal), but neither side could manage a goal.
City would strike first with a little help from Juventus, however, as Chiellini's controversial own goal in the 57th minute gave City a 1-0 lead. It appeared as though Kompany had fouled Chiellini as the corner kick came into the box, climbing over the Italian defender before the ball hit Chiellini's head and went into the goal.
Chiellini was livid after the fact, and Matteo Bonetti of beIN Sports sympathised:
So too did Guardian contributor Paolo Bandini:
City weren't about to give it back, however, and were absolutely buzzing after the goal. Minutes later, they would nearly strike on the counter, with Silva setting up Sterling with acres of space, again on the left side of the box. And again, Buffon would make a diving save, this time adding a save on Silva's shot attempt off of the rebound. It was a crucial moment for the Italian side, which easily could have been down by a 2-0 scoreline.
Bony would have his own crack at goal moments later. But again Buffon's positioning was superb, and he came up with the save.
The game remained fairly open from there, and Juventus would have their equaliser in short order.
Paul Pogba's absolutely brilliant pass over the City defense into the box found a streaking Mandzukic, who needed only the slightest of touches to deflect the ball past a helpless Joe Hart and into the net.
Fox Soccer on Twitter shared the goal:
Miguel Delaney of ESPN FC aptly summed up the moment:
Morata would then give the visiting side a shock 2-1 lead in the 81st minute, curling a sensational shot past Hart, who never had a chance.
Yaya Toure tried to answer with a curler of his own from outside of the box in the 88th minute, but Buffon was again stout, leaping to make another crucial save. The Citizens didn't create another quality chance the rest of the way and walked off the pitch without a single point, clearly dazed by the end result.
Post-Match Reaction
City remained defiant in the face of defeat.
"We played better than Juventus, but they scored two beautiful goals," manager Manuel Pellegrini told BT Sport after the match (h/t Football Italia).
Toure felt Juventus were a bit fortunate on the day as well, though he gave them credit for their performance.
“It was a disappointing game," he told BT Sport (h/t Football Italia). "The Italian team played very well, defended very well and I think they’ve been lucky. I don’t think we played that bad."
The game's hero, Morata, felt the game was a crucial moment in the season for Juventus, as he told Mediaset Premium (h/t Football Italia).
It’s a very important victory for us. We didn’t start the season in the best way, as we changed a great deal and need to get used to playing together. Today is a starting point, because when we all play together the way we know how, we are among the strongest teams in Europe.
I worked hard to help out the defence throughout the game and was fortunate enough to score a goal too. I think this is a great starting point for Juve.
Juve will be hoping it isn't a high point and simply the beginning of a successful run in the Champions League, however. And City will just be trying to put this match behind themselves.
City will next face Borussia Monchengladbach in Champions League play on Sept. 30 in what has become a must-win game for the club, while Juventus will face Sevilla that same day.
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2567216-manchester-city-vs-juventus-score-and-reaction-from-2015-champions-league
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