Juventus lost the first leg which was the away game of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 against Portuguese Champion FC Porto by 1-2 in Estadio do Dragao.
Iranian International Mehdi Taremi opened the account for Porto in the first half and Moussa Marega extended the lead before Federico Chiesa got one back for Juventus.
This loss means Juventus have to win the second leg by one or more goals, but if they concede two goals then they’ll have to score 4 goals.
FC Porto 2-1 Juventus team news:
Portuguese champions Porto went with a 4-4-2 formation. Moussa Marega and Mehdi Taremi led the line for Sergio Conceição’s side.
Andrea Pirlo went with the 4-4-2 formation as well. Cristiano Ronaldo and Dejan Kulusevski started as strikers. Matthijs De Ligt and Giorgio Chiellini started in central defence. The new signing Federico Chiesa is in very good form who started as well.
FC Porto 2-1 Juventus post-match analysis:
Juventus conceded right on the 1-minute mark. Wojciech Szczęsny and Rodrigo Bentancur made a huge mistake inside their own box. Szczęsny tried to clear the ball but Taremi blocked the clearance which went straight into the back of the net.
Pirlo’s side could not create many chances for themselves in the first half apart from Adrian Rabiot’s overhead kick but Porto keeper Agustin Marchesin saved it pretty well.
In the second half, Porto scored another very quick goal. Excellent team play were shown by the Portuguese side in front of the goal and Marega finished the opportunity. Italian Champions got one back on the 82nd-minute mark. Rabiot’s cross was excellently finished off by Federico Chiesa.
Just two minutes later Juventus had a glorious chance to equalise the game but substitute Alvaro Morata brilliantly closed down and saved the situation by goalkeeper Marchesin.
Notable Performances:
Adrien Rabiot(CM) – (7/10)(Juventus): He had a pretty good game in a surprising defeat. Assisted the goal and also did very well defensively from midfield.
Mehdi Taremi(CF) – (7/10)(FC Porto): His energy and pressing caused huge trouble for the Juventus defence and also he forced the error for the first goal and few other errors as well.
Wojciech Szczęsny(GK) – (5/10)(Juventus): Made the initial bad pass for the first Porto goal and then he fumbled again but luckily that time it was safe.
Porto will play against Maritimo in their next game in Primeira Liga on 22nd February and Juventus’ next game in Serie A against Crotone on the same day.
