Thanks to an almost perfect performance, Juventus Under 20’s won 2-0 away at Aston Villa on the fifth and penultimate Matchday of the UEFA Youth League, league phase.
Lorenzo Biliboc’s excellent brace was enough for Juve to take all three points, adding to the goal he scored in the last league outing against Sampdoria.
With this victory, Francesco Magnanelli's team rises to 10 points in the standings and mathematically qualify for the round of 16 with one game still to be played.
THE MATCH REPORT
Juventus began the match superbly and it was no surprise that the first big chance of the match - just a few minutes after the opening whistle – fell to the Bianconeri: Alessio Vacca, was found in space in the penalty area but saw his effort denied by Samuel Lewis.
Aston Villa tried to overcome the Juventus pressure, and they did so shortly after the 10th minute with a fine move involving Kadan Young and Bradley Burrowes: the former crossing in from the right and the latter looked set to open the scoring, only to be denied by some last ditch defending from Federico Savio.
As the game went on, the tempo remained high, but there were no further clear-cut chances like those that fell to Vacca and Burrowes.
In the 24th minute, however, Juve came close to breaking the deadlock. It was again Vacca causing problems for the Villa defence: the Juve number 10 tried to beat Lewis with a diving header following Savio's excellent cross from the right, but his effort flew over the crossbar.
In hindsight, that was to be a rehearsal of Juventus' opening goal, which came after 39 minutes with a splendid cross finished by Biliboc, to score his second goal in consecutive games after the one against Sampdoria in the league. Credit should also be given to Diego Pugno for his precise delivery.
Biliboc's goal was the last real action of the first half, which ended with our young Bianconeri ahead 0-1.
Unlike the first half, the tempo of the game was slower at the start of the second half, which benefited Juventus, who were able to manage their one goal lead.
After the first quarter of an hour of the second half, Riccardo Radu remained untroubled. On the contrary, it was the Bianconeri who threatened to get a second, again through Vacca trying to catch Lewis off guard at the near post from a good position, but he saw his shot denied by an excellent save from the Aston Villa goalkeeper.
Having survived the Juve pressure, Villa also managed to threaten at the other end as they hit the top of the crossbar through Triston Rowe, with Radu having been beaten by the effort.
Juventus’ response was excellent: a few minutes later the Bianconeri broke into the hosts’ half and they doubled their lead again through Biliboc with a looping shot that beat Lewis, who had been unsighted by a defender. 0-2.
Now the match became even more complicated for the English side. Josep Gombau's team continued to push, but the Bianconeri were adept at breaking down their opponent’s attacks. In the 80th minute, Aston Villa had a chance to half the delficit, but Radu parried away Rowe’s shot from the edge of the area – a save that was made all the more impressive as the shot had deflected off Javier Gil Puche. It was a crucial save that allowed Juventus to close out the match without too much trouble, despite Aston Villa’s best efforts to get back into the game.
At the final whistle, the Bianconeri celebrated an important result in terms of qualification for the next round.
ASTON VILLA 0-2 JUVENTUS
Aston Villa FC Training Ground, Wednesday 27 November, 2024 at 14:00 (CEST)
Goals: 38’ Biliboc (J), 65’ Biliboc (J)
Aston Villa: Lewis, Rowe, Katsukunya, Routh, Patterson, Borland, Hemmings, Young, Jimoh-Aloba, Broggio, Burrowes (57’ Cotcher)
Unused Substitutes: Fortes, Hammond, Jenner, Hayward, Lynch, Burgess, Bloomfield, Mulley.
Coach: Josep Gombau.
Juventus: Radu, Savio, Martinez Crous, Gil Puche, Pagnucco, Ventre (90+5’ Nisci), Mazur, Keutgen, Biliboc (87’ Grelaud), Pugno (90+1’ Comellas), Vacca (87’ Bellino).
Unused Substitutes: Zelezny, Verde, Scienza, Finocchiaro, Borasio.
Coach: Francesco Magnanelli.
Referee: Alan Kijas
Assistants: Alexander Borucki, Thomas Kaplan
Fourth Official: Scott Tallis
Bookings: 32’ Pugno (J), 45+1’ Gil Puche (J), 54’ Patterson (A), 68’ Keutgen (J)
Next Match:**
Sassuolo-Juventus
Sunday, 1 December, 2024 at 11:00 (CEST)
Stadio Enzo Ricci