With both teams arriving in desperate need of a win, it was Juventus who collected three points from this UEFA Champions League encounter, running out 2-0 winners over Manchester City.
Indeed, the Premier League title holders have struggled in recent weeks. In the ten games since beating Southampton back on October 26, Pep Guardiola’s men have registered just a single victory, managing just two draws and six losses in all competitions.
Juventus seemed almost as unlikely to notch a victory however, the Italian giants coming into this game on the back of four consecutive draws and just two wins in their last seven games overall.
Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic adds to Manchester City woes
Despite being able to add Weston McKennie and Douglas Luiz back into his squad, Thiago Motta had a lengthy injury list to contend with too as Gleison Bremer, Juan Cabal, Andrea Cambiaso, Nico Gonzalez and Arek Milik all missed out.
With all that in mind, it was not surprising that the two sides would be extremely tentative in the early exchanges, each doing their best to minimise risks while remaining compact and organised.
That nervousness meant the opening 20 minutes passed largely without incident, Kenan Yildiz finally registering the first real chance as he flashed a lethal effort narrowly wide.
Erling Haaland mishit City’s first chance on goal and found the grateful hands of Michele Di Gregorio, the Juve ‘keeper denying the big no.9 again moments later after a great pass from Kevin De Bruyne.
Half time came and went, then in the 53rd minute, the Bianconeri took the lead as a perfect ball from Yildiz picked out Dusan Vlahovic. The Serbia international outjumped Josko Gvardiol and Ederson failed to make a save, goal line technology confirming that the shot had crossed the line.
City had chances through Jeremy Doku and Ilkay Gundogan but Juve managed to keep them at bay before doubling their lead on the counter attack. Tim Weah found USA team-mate Weston McKennie with a cross that the latter dispatched with an acrobatic volley from 10 yards.
Manuel Locatelli leads Juventus to victory
The final 20 minutes saw City dominate possession but rarely threaten the Juve goal, the Bianconeri midfield working tirelessly to protect those behind them and control the flow of the game.
Manuel Locatelli — whose good form was discussed in this previous column — played a crucial role in seeing his side through to the end. According to WhoScored.com, the Italy midfielder registered six tackles, four clearances and blocked two shots over the 90+ minutes of action.
It was certainly the type of display his Coach was referring to in his post-match interview, Thiago Motta lauding the intelligence his players showed to claim such an important victory.
“We played with heart and soul, but also our heads and with the desire to do things the right way,” the Coach told Amazon Prime Italia. “We knew before the game that we’d have to defend deep a lot more than usual, but we did it together as a team.
“In attack, we also had to go together, strike at the right time, and that is what we did. The important thing is that we are in sync, we know what we want to do, what we need at this moment.
“We must maintain the same philosophy and now concentrate on the next match, proving ourselves just the same way in every game.”
That next game comes on Sunday when Juventus take on Venezia, while City face United in a massive Manchester derby.