01 October 2015
Wednesday night’s triumph at Juventus Stadium stretched the Old Lady’s unbeaten streak at home in the Champions League to ten games, of which seven have resulted in wins.
The 2-0 victory against the Rojiblancos owes much to the disparity in the number of shots managed by the two sides. The Bianconeri mustered a total of 20 efforts, six of which on target, in contrast to the visitors’ solitary strike in the first-half.
Massimiliano Allegri’s men edged their opponents in terms of possession, enjoying 54.4 per cent of the ball and 4.5 per cent more than Unai Emery’s men in the final third. They were also crisp and accurate in their distribution, completing 90.4 per cent of their passes.
On an individual level, Alvaro Morata stole the show. The striker’s 41st minute header ensured he would enter the record books as only the second Juve player in history to score in five consecutive Champions League fixtures, matching Alessandro Del Piero’s feat from 1995 and 1997.
Yesterday’s goal was also the Spaniard’s seventh in his last nine appearances in the competition and his fourth at the detriment of clubs from his home country, having previously netted twice against Real Madrid and once past Barcelona keeper Marc-André ter Stegen in last year’s final.
The man who provided the latest assist for Morata, Andrea Barzagli, played the most amount of passes in the opposition half (40).
Meanwhile, Simone Zaza got his Champions League account up and running by finding the target on his European debut.
From a defensive standpoint, Hernanes won back possession for his side on nine occasions – more than any player on the pitch. Meanwhile Leonardo Bonucci made the most blocks (eight) and Giorgio Chiellini the highest number of interceptions along with Sevilla midfielder Michael Krohn-Dehli (five).
Between the sticks, Gigi Buffon had just one save to make across the whole 90 minutes in contrast to Sergio Rico’s four.
