Champions League: Aston Villa 0 Juventus 0
About 15 minutes before this match Emiliano Martínez was introduced on to the pitch for a touch of grandstanding, to commemorate the Argentinian becoming the first goalkeeper to win the Yashin Trophy twice. Then, about an hour later, Martínez exhibited quite why he is held in such high esteem, not that Aston Villa supporters required a reminder. Martínez’s fantastic, impulsive save to thwart Francisco Conceição midway through the second half denied Juventus the chance to seize the lead. Goalline technology showed Martínez kept the ball out by a few millimetres, a shaving of the starry Champions League ball remaining on and not over the Villa goalline.
Juventus, regulars on this stage compared to Villa, got the point they probably deserved. The Juventus captain, Manuel Locatelli, stuck out a left boot to prevent John McGinn from converting a Leon Bailey cutback and in the first half Lucas Digne rattled the crossbar with a free-kick from the edge of the box. For Villa, a draw against the Serie A team will surely be seen as credible, but Unai Emery’s side are now winless in seven matches. The last time Villa went seven games without a win was under Dean Smith four years ago, when they – just about – escaped relegation, when McGinn and Ezri Konsa, an unused substitute here, were in the starting line-up.
Emery has not gone seven games without a win since being dismissed by Arsenal in November 2019, a defeat at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, when Martínez was in goal for Emery, the final straw of a difficult run. Emery went six games without a win at the end of last season, when qualification for this competition had been rubber-stamped. For Villa, there is no need to panic, but a tricky run could feasibly be extended to eight matches by the time they head home from Chelsea on Sunday.
On the eve of this game the Juventus manager, Thiago Motta, accused Unai Emery of bluffing after his Villa counterpart, who was Motta’s coach in the twilight of his career at Paris Saint-Germain, suggested he would be happy with a point. Motta insisted it was a poker face on Emery’s part and perhaps because Juventus arrived here so light on numbers. Juventus flew to England with a 17-man squad, minus Dusan Vlahovic, their star striker. Douglas Luiz, who has struggled since swapping Birmingham for Turin, was absent from the team sheet because of a muscle injury. The Serie A club named six substitutes, two of which were goalkeepers. Villa, meanwhile, welcomed back Boubacar Kamara into the base of midfield and Emery pushed John McGinn forward into a role behind Ollie Watkins. Morgan Rogers operated off the left flank.
There was the familiar rally cry from Emery in his programme notes at the prospect of another memorable evening against a European superpower, even if their reputation has faded so slightly in recent years. Regardless of Juventus’s rich and storied past and Emery was adamant Villa had to be much improved to take anything from the game. Leon Bailey made a fast start, cutting in off the right flank to fire a shot at goal but this match was stodgy for almost all 46 first-half minutes. Villa’s frustrations were typified by the moment Youri Tielemans, the recipient of an early yellow card, was left hopping on the spot after the line to Watkins was snipped by an alert Federico Gatti in the Juventus defence.
Until Watkins registered the first shot on target, spinning in the box after seamlessly latching on to Kamara’s cannoned effort. Watkins swivelled neatly and sent a left-foot shot at goal off his laces, forcing the Juventus goalkeeper, Di Gregorio, into a fine save. From the leftovers of the subsequent corner Matty Cash saw a stinging effort blocked. Lucas Digne bent a free-kick on to the crossbar after Pierre Kalulu, a walking yellow card, was eventually booked by the referee for crunching Watkins. At the other end Francisco Conceição moseyed down the right flank before squeezing a weak shot at the near post, allowing Martínez to gather comfortably.
Conceição was busy and proved difficult to get to grips with, his cross a few minutes into the second half the trigger for a handball shout against Pau Torres. Juventus hounded in packs. Khéphren Thuram sent a shot wide after Teun Koopmeiners shifted the ball infield after seizing on a loose pass by Bailey, who was almost punished for his high-wire act in keeping the ball in on the opposite touchline. Juventus’s big chance dropped on 65 minutes. Koopmeiners’s corner zoomed towards the back post, Conceição eluded Rogers and headed goalwards unmarked. For a split second, the Portuguese appeared to peel away in celebration, before realising Martínez had somehow prevented his header from going over the line. The goalkeeper plunged down to his right to repel the ball with his right glove, goalline technology showing he did just enough. Villa supporters crooned Martínez’s name in unison.
Three minutes of second-half stoppage time had been and gone when Morgan Rogers thought he had snatched victory with surely the final kick. Teun Koopmeiners conceded a cheap foul on halfway, allowing Villa one last chance to pump the ball into the box. Diego Carlos rose to challenge the Juventus goalkeeper, Michele Di Gregorio, in pursuit of the high ball but it ran free and Rogers simply hooked the ball into an empty net. A VAR review apparently penalised the Villa centre-back. As Carlos headed down the tunnel, he offered the Spanish referee, Jesús Gil Manzano, a filthy look. – Guardian
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