The Serbian gave the Bianconeri the lead in the second leg of the Europa League semi-final, then Sevilla equalized and found the goal in extra time that earned Mourinho the challenge
In the second leg of the semi-final of the Europa League, Vlahovic gives Juve the lead but that’s not enough: Sevilla overturns the outcome of the match with the “Italians” Suso and Lamela, who took over during the match, beat Juve 2-1 and fly to the final , where he will meet Roma aiming for a seventh victory of the trophy. For the Spaniards it is the second success against the Juventus team in six meetings (1-1 in the first leg), for Allegri’s team it is a very heavy defeat because it means farewell to the only trophy of the season for which they were still in contention. Therefore, no European final six years later, and above all no chance of direct access to the Champions League, net of any different off-field decisions. Juve also loses Fagioli, who in all probability ended his season tonight due to a broken collarbone.
Two-sided first half
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Al Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán double “cheer” from the Juve coach: if Kean’s offensive end in front of Di Maria was in the air, the choice of Iling-Junior on the left wing instead of Chiesa or Kostic was a completely surprise move on the black and white chessboard. Unexpected but not illogical for this: Allegri probably thought that the freshness of the young players could tire the opponent, to then have more experienced replacements to deliver the knockout blow in the second half or more, if necessary, with a view to five changes and a race of unpredictable duration. In the red tide of the stadium – the audience in the stands was beautiful – Sevilla set off at full speed, besieging Juve, forced into their area for the first quarter of an hour without being able to put their heads out. However, the pressing Andalusian pressure finds no way out: no shots, zero concrete dangers for Juve, which builds density in the area and leaves no gap uncovered.
The Festival of Occasions
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And then it was Juve who became dangerous, first with a shot from the edge by Fagioli raised over the crossbar by a deflection by Badé, then, above all, with a close-range header by Gatti, violent but not very angled, which Bounou rejected. It’s the 15th minute, the match heats up, and finally the ping pong of chances thickens. In fact, Sevilla responded with a header from Ocampos which Szczesny miraculously resisted, then it was Gatti who surgically plucked a ball from the feet of El Nesyri ready to shoot to the limit. In the 27th minute Rabiot invents a nice through ball for Di Maria, who misses twice: the touch, with a lob that misses the target, and the choice, given that Kean was free in the middle of the area. Then again Szczesny was on the shields, in the 30th minute, when he raised a left footed shot from Acuna for a corner. Kean replies, crossing and hitting the goalkeeper’s post in the 33rd minute. The alternation continues, with Rakitic sending high from a good position and Szczesny again saying no to a running right foot from Ocampos. Fagioli, overwhelmed by Gudelj, fell and left the field on a stretcher, with a collarbone probably broken. In his place, Paredes came on in the 41st minute. Rabiot finds the goal but Locatelli is offside and everything needs to be redone. And again the Var subscribes to the decision on the last action of the first half: a very decisive intervention by Cuadrado on Torres is not in the area, and the teams meet for the second half.
Suso and Lamela overturn Vlahovic
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The second half sees less intensity on the pitch but the same desire to sting, with both contenders close to scoring. It takes a double graft to change the inertia of the match: in the 63rd minute Vlahovic and Chiesa relieve Kean and Di Maria, and two minutes later the Serbian finds the goal, with a touch below with his left foot after a header from Rabiot. It’s 1-0 for Juve, which crumples all around Vlahovic including the bench. Meanwhile, two other former “Italians” Suso and Lamela meet again in Seville. And the black and white joy didn’t last long: it was the Spaniard who found the 1-1 goal, in the 71st minute, with a left-footed shot from distance towards which Szczesny reached out in flight but didn’t arrive. Another thrill from Suso on a free kick, with Szczesny deflecting for a corner and it was Miretti and Kostic’s turn, on the pitch from the 86th minute in place of Locatelli and Iling. The regular times end with a great deflection by Szczesny on a header by Es-Nasyri (after an assist by Suso), and the match goes into extra time. And here the main scene of the match takes place: after 5′ Gil crosses Cuadrado with a cross, and Lamela, who replaced Ocampos in the 70th minute, heads over Szczesny making the final 2-1. Acuna loses time after 115′ and receives a second yellow card. But for Juve the European dream ends here.
May 18, 2023 (change May 19, 2023 | 00:39)
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