Villarreal-Juventus: Avoidable draw for the Bianconeri

Juventus have drawn 1-1 against Villarreal in their first match in the Champions League round of 16. Dusan Vlahovic gave the Bianconeri the lead early on, but his goal was canceled out by Dani Parejo in the second half. Max Statman gives you a quick breakdown and player ratings.

There’s no way to start your debut in the Champions League better than Dusan Vlahovic did on Tuesday. He found the back of the net after only 36 seconds. Danilo found Vlahovic with an amazing through ball. The Serbian striker controlled it well and Rulli was unable to save his shot in the left bottom corner.

After taking the lead, Juventus crawled back into their shell a little. They gave Villarreal most of the possesion in the early stages. In the 13th minute, Villarreal got their first big chance. Pedraza picked up the ball on the edge of the box, dribbled towards goal and gave it to Lo Celso. The Argentinian hit the post.

Backheel attempt

Szczesny made a great save 5 minutes later. Chukweze got through on the left wing and found Danjuma with a low cross. The Dutchman tried to score with a backheel, but the Polish goalkeeper was alert. Villarreal got less dangerous after a while and Juventus were looking more comfortable towards the end of the first half. The Bianconeri had one good opportunity to double their lead. De Sciglio gave it to McKennie in the box, but Villarreal captain Albiol blocked the American’s attempt.

Juventus came out of the dressing room well. McKennie assisted Morata with an excellent cross, but the volley produced by the Spanish striker went wide. Villarreal had their first opportunity in the second half 10 minutes later. Alberto Moreno received the ball in Juventus’ box, but he was unable to trouble Szczesny, who caught it with ease.

Lack of concentration

After 66 minutes of football, the hosts equalized. Until that point, Juventus seemed to have control. Dani Parejo was left unmarked in the box after a great pass by Capoue and he made no mistake in front of goal. It looked like Adrien Rabiot was supposed to mark the Spanish midfielder. Rabiot escaped a red card a few minutes later after a foul on Chukweze.

Dusan Vlahovic fired a shot from the edge of the box just before the end of the match, but Rulli made a good stop. Nothing separates the sides when they face off in Turin in a few weeks time.

Player ratings

Szczesny 6;

Danilo 7, De Ligt 6.5, Alex Sandro 6, De Sciglio 5;

Cuadrado 6, Rabiot 5, Locatelli 6.5, McKennie 6.5;

Morata 6, Vlahovic 6.5

Substitutions: Bonucci 6.5, Arthur 6, Zakaria (-), Pellegrini (-)