Black & White & Read All Over - UEFA Europa League: Juventus vs. Benfica, Leg 2, full match coverage"Alla Juventus vincere non è importante. È l'unica cosa che conta."https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47437/blackwhiteread-fave.png2014-05-02T01:00:00+02:00http://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/rss/stream/54380412014-05-02T01:00:00+02:002014-05-02T01:00:00+02:00Juventus 0 (1) - Benfica 0 (2): Initial reaction
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<figcaption>Valerio Pennicino</figcaption>
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<p>Welp.</p> <p>Talk about a missed opportunity.</p>
<p>Juventus dominated the possession. Juventus dominated the scoring chances. Juventus got to play nearly two-thirds of the second half with a man advantage after Enzo Pérez was shown a second yellow card. Heck, they were even playing up two after Ezequiel Garay got a Paul Pogba boot right in the face.</p>
<p>They just could get the one thing they needed the most.</p>
<p>No goals, no extra home game in the Europa League final in two weeks. Juventus needed a goal, but after nearly 100 minutes on Thursday night, they never got it. They had plenty of chances to do so, they just couldn't finish a single shot to put the aggregate score on level terms and therefore have the chance to make it to the final in their very own stadium.</p>
<p>A lot of chances. But not one found the back of the net.</p>
<p>Were Juventus the better side over two legs? Yeah, I feel pretty safe in saying they were. It's not like Benfica were totally terrible, though. They're in the Europa League final for the second straight season. They're a team, much like Juventus, that shouldn't be in the Europa League to begin with. Benfica are good, really good. It's not like they don't deserve to be in the final, as much as Antonio Conte might disagree with that statement.</p>
<p>But when it mattered most, Juventus didn't do the most important thing they needed to on Thursday night. They needed a goal and didn't get it. That's that.</p>
<p>We can shout about tactics, we can shout about formations all we want. When push came to shove, though, Juventus were set up as they usually are, created more than enough scoring opportunities, and didn't make Benfica pay.</p>
<p>I'm a simple kind of guy and that's my simple explanation.</p>
<p><b>Random thoughts and observations</b></p>
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<li><span>/grumble<br><br></span></li>
<li><span>There's a whole lot of Antonio Conte-related rage on the interwebs right now. It's not exactly that hard to find it. Just go ahead search for it. Is it deserved? Maybe some of it. He's the manager and Juve had aspirations of playing the Europa League final in their own stadium, so of course he is going to hear about it — good or bad. He's a very good manager, but not the perfect manager. He's still learning how to compete on the European stage just like a lot of other people are with his kind of experience level.<br><br>Just remember this: This is Conte's second year as a manager in Europe. He's already conquered Italy (almost) three times over, but obviously doing things on the bigger, European stage aren't coming as quickly as domestically.<br><br></span></li>
<li><span>With that said, <a href="http://www.football-italia.net/48622/conte-benfica-dont-deserve-final" target="_blank">Conte blasting referee Mark Clattenberg and saying Benfica didn't deserve to go through</a> right after the final whistle might not have been the right way to go about things when looking back on how things went. I can understand he's got emotions running high after such a crazy game, but that probably wasn't the best thing to do right out of the shoot.<br><br></span></li>
<li><span>We might not be here if Luisao didn't have a goal-line clearance in the second half. Like I said, the chances were there...<br><br></span></li>
<li><span>We might not be here if Stephan Lichtsteiner was able to control that Claudio Marchisio cross and put something on target.<br><br></span></li>
<li><span>Nineteen total shots, seven on goals. So many chances. So many chances.<br><br></span></li>
<li><span>I do hope this result serves as a realization that Juventus need something more to truly compete on the European stage. Signing somebody like Carlos Tévez was a really good first step, but Juve aren't the total package just yet. They were the trendy sleeper to do things in the Champions League, then became the overwhelming favorites to win the Europa League. But they need more. And as great as it is to be the top dog in Italy the past three years, Juve can't settle for just that.<br><br></span></li>
<li><span>On a positive note because all of this other stuff can be considered doom and gloom at this point: It was really nice to see Paul Pogba doing Paul Pogba things again.<br><br></span></li>
<li><span>Mirko Vucinic getting sent off without playing a second is quite...interesting.<br><br></span></li>
<li><span>So, do we still think Juventus didn't care about the Europa League?<br><br></span></li>
<li><span>One request: Just go out and throttle Atalanta on Monday night. I can't think of a better way to kick off a Scudetto party in front of the Juventus Stadium crowd.</span></li>
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https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2014/5/2/5672904/uefa-europa-league-juventus-benfica-semifinal-leg-2-final-score-initial-reaction-random-observationsDanny Penza2014-05-01T19:35:07+02:002014-05-01T19:35:07+02:00Game Time Thread: Juventus vs. Benfica, Leg 2
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<figcaption>Giuseppe Bellini</figcaption>
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<p>In the match preview I quoted Giampiero Boniperti to start things off. In the game thread, I'm going to quote somebody else.</p>
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<p>"When you get punched in the mouth, you gotta get up and punch them right back."</p>
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<p>Juventus were punched in the mouth in Lisbon and the 2-1 scoreline is a sign of that. They didn't necessarily play poorly in the first leg, yet it's safe to say that they could have come back to Turin on level terms rather than needing a win to make it to the Europa League final.</p>
<p>And tonight is the night to do that.</p>
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<p>Ninety minutes — or maybe more if we're "lucky" — is all that's left for Juventus to try and flip the current 2-1 deficit on aggregate into their favor. It's clearly not out of the realm of possibilities, especially since the second leg is in Turin and Juve are rather good in front of their home crowd.</p>
<p>The hope is that they're a little better than good against Benfica.</p>
<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Conte&src=hash">#Conte</a>: "The word 'fear' isn't part of our vocabulary. We know we deserve to be in a European semi, it's an exciting moment." <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23JuveBenfica&src=hash">#JuveBenfica</a></p>
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) <a href="https://twitter.com/juventusfcen/statuses/461555965087985664">April 30, 2014</a>
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<p>That's what Juventus will need against the Portuguese champions tonight. They need a win. They need goals. They need to make sure Benfica doesn't get an away goal and completely ruin the opportunity to turn the Europa League final a home game for Juventus.</p>
<p>What will it be, gents?</p>
<p>All we do now is hope that a couple hours from now Juventus will be celebrating another home game rather than getting eliminated from the Europa League while sitting on the door step of the final.</p>
<p>Starting lineups for both Juventus and Benfica will be announced RIGHT HERE when they become available. If you were hoping that Simone Padoin would get the start, maybe you should fire up your XBOX and play a little FIFA 14. But hopefully it's after the game, don't want to miss the chance to see Juve make it to a cup final, right?</p>
<p><i>UPDATE: LINEUPS ARE IN!</i></p>
<p><b>Juventus XI (3-5-2):</b> Buffon; Caceres, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Pogba, Asamoah; Tevez, Llorente</p>
<p><b>Juventus bench: </b>Storari, Barzagli, Marchisio, Padoin, Vucinic, Giovinco, Osvaldo</p>
<p><b>Benfica XI (4-2-3-1): </b>Oblak; Maxi Pereira, Luisao, Garay, Siqueira; Ruben Amorim, Perez; L Markovic, Rodrigo, Gaitan; Lima</p>
<p><b>Benfica bench:</b> Artur, Jardel, Andre Almeida, Sulejmani, Ivan Cavaleiro, Oscar Cardozo, Salvio</p>
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https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2014/5/1/5659330/uefa-europa-league-game-time-thread-juventus-vs-benfica-leg-2Danny Penza2014-05-01T11:00:31+02:002014-05-01T11:00:31+02:00Juventus vs. Benfica: You choose the starting XI
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<figcaption>Jamie McDonald</figcaption>
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<p>Juventus need a goal. Or two. Or three.</p>
<p>Okay, simply put, they need goals to turn the 2-1 deficit on aggregate into their favor. That's as easy as we can make it. No more simpler terms than that. There's only a certain number of ways to flip the aggregate scoreline from Benfica's favor to Juve's. Doesn't take rocket science, even if the away goal rule still confuses some people.</p>
<p>So, that brings us to tonight's game, which is just a couple of hours away by the time most of us here in the States rise and shine and begin to get our days underway.</p>
<p>Everybody is healthy. Or, at least we think they're healthy because Antonio Conte has basically told us so. Everybody who is eligible to be called up for tonight's second leg against Benfica <a target="_blank" href="http://www.juventus.com/juve/en/news/juve_convocati_benfica_home">has been called up</a>. See, take a look for yourself.</p>
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<p>1 Buffon<br>3 Chiellini<br>4 Caceres<br>5 Ogbonna<br>6 Pogba<br>7 Pepe<br>8 Marchisio<br>9 Vucinic<br>10 Tevez<br>12 Giovinco<br>13 Peluso<br>14 Llorente<br>15 Barzagli<br>18 Osvaldo<br>19 Bonucci<br>20 Padoin<br>21 Pirlo<br>22 Asamoah<br>23 Vidal<br>26 Lichtsteiner<br>30 Storari<br>33 Isla<br>34 Rubinho</p>
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<p>Of course, the one person who may not be completely healthy is a certain midfielder by the name of Arturo Vidal, who missed the first leg in Lisbon because of his lingering knee injury. All that we've seen of Vidal in the games following Juve's win over Lyon in the quarterfinals is a pair of short substitute appearances against Bologna and Sassuolo.</p>
<p>Fifteen minutes or so in almost a month. That's about it when it comes to game time for King Arturo.</p>
<p>Let's see what Conte had to say about Vidal's status during his pre-match press conference on Wednesday...</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Conte&src=hash">#Conte</a>: "<a href="https://twitter.com/kingarturo23">@kingarturo23</a> has trained today, you'll find out whether he'll be in the starting line-up or on the bench tomorrow." <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23JuveBenfica&src=hash">#JuveBenfica</a></p>
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) <a href="https://twitter.com/juventusfcen/statuses/461553850684805120">April 30, 2014</a>
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<p>Well that didn't help.</p>
<p>If that's an attempt to keep his cards as close to his vest as possible, it's working. Like Conte said, we won't about Vidal being in the starting lineup or not until the dang things are actually announced publicly. Start your wondering now, folks. We've got a couple of hours before kickoff arrives.</p>
<p>You know the game. Put on your favorite Antonio Conte baseball cap and get thinking. And if you think Simone Padoin is the answer when Juventus need a goal or two to advance to the Europa League final, well, I don't know what to tell you about that.</p>
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https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2014/5/1/5667478/uefa-europa-league-juventus-vs-benfica-leg-2-you-choose-the-starting-lineupDanny Penza2014-04-30T18:00:15+02:002014-04-30T18:00:15+02:00Juventus vs. Benfica Preview: A must-win situation
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<figcaption>Jamie McDonald</figcaption>
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<p>Giampiero Boniperti's famous quote about Juventus couldn't be more appropriate right now.</p>
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<p><i>"Vincere non è importante, è l'unica cosa che conta."</i></p>
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<p>Juventus enter the second leg of their Europa League semifinal tie with Benfica needing to win. There's no other way for them to add an extra home game to the schedule other than to beat Benfica tomorrow night at Juventus Stadium. I could sit here and try and be funny. I could write some lengthy explanation as to why Juventus need to win.</p>
<p>Or, I could just get right to the point.</p>
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<p>The result in Portugal wasn't the be-all, end-all in this two-legged semifinal encounter. Carlos Tévez's second-half strike gave Juventus some life — something they didn't exactly have much of before he found the back of the net. Juve's No. 10 gave them hope and something to lean on heading into Thursday night's second leg.</p>
<p>He gave them a chance to achieve what the goal has been ever since they were dumped out of the Champions League on that stupid, sorry excuse for a field in Istanbul back in December — make it to the Europa League final at Juventus Stadium.</p>
<p>But to take advantage of that, Juventus need to win. As it stands, that's their only option.</p>
<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p>Juventus has attempted to overcome a 1st leg 2-1 defeat 5 times in Europe, only failed once against Liverpool in 2005. (/<a href="https://twitter.com/2010MisterChip">@2010MisterChip</a>)</p>
— Aaron Giambattista (@agiamba) <a href="https://twitter.com/agiamba/statuses/459441126529712129">April 24, 2014</a>
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<p>No draws. No funny business. Nothing like that will work if Juve want to play one more game in the Europa League.</p>
<p>Juventus need to win to make it to the Europa League final in front of their hometown crowd. That's as simple as simple gets. A 1-0 win and the ticket is booked. A 1-1 draw, and Juve are watching from their couches as Benfica try to win the Europa League for the second straight year.</p>
<p>Winning is the only thing that matters. Remember what one of the club's true icons said. He knows what he's talking about. And in this case — just like every other one — there's no reason to disagree with him.</p>
<p><b>GOOD NEWS</b></p>
<p>The second leg is at Juventus Stadium, a place where Juventus hasn't lost a game all season.</p>
<p><b>BAD NEWS</b></p>
<p>Juventus are down 2-1 on aggregate, not exactly the best of scenarios — but also not the worst, to be fair — after Juve's trip to Portugal six days ago.</p>
<p><b>WHAT TO WATCH FOR</b></p>
<p>1. The health of Arturo Vidal.</p>
<p>The knee injury was still there during Juve's trip to Portugal a week ago. It's been lingering around for weeks and we've been waiting (somewhat) patiently for the injury to completely go away so we can have our King Arturo back. Antonio Conte said before Juve's Monday night trip to Sassuolo that they're doing everything possible to get Vidal to 100 percent before Benfica visits Juventus Stadium. So now, all we have to do is wait, right? As much as we might want to wring the neck of somebody so that they give us an answer sooner, we can only sit and wait for the word to come down. And when it comes to somebody as important as Vidal, you don't take chances. He's way too important to mess with.</p>
<p>2. How Juventus handle the Benfica counter attacks.</p>
<p>At times, it was almost like Benfica countered with jetpacks attached to their backs. They were quick, they were dangerous, and they created a lot of havoc for the Juventus defense no matter which side of the field they were coming from. It really didn't matter the situation was, Benfica used the counter to their advantage last week and Juve were probably lucky they weren't hurt by it more than they were. Now the matter of attention becomes how Juventus adjust their tactics and/or personnel to counter Benfica's counter. And it's not just a matter of Juve defending well in the final third. It's the defense, the midfield, everybody. This is where Conte really has to do his homework because if it's anything like the first leg, it might be lights out time.</p>
<p>3. The effectiveness of Carlos Tévez.</p>
<p>The European goal-drought is over and the monkey is officially off Carlitos' back. Now, where does he go from here? Tévez was pretty lively even without the goal in the first leg, but ending the goal drought almost certainly is a big weight off his shoulders. Just the fact that people won't talk about it during the course of a match is something that I welcome with open arms. But to actually have it happen and get it out of his mind completely, may be quite a development. He played well against Sassuolo on Monday, scoring his 19th league goal in the 3-1 win. It really does seem like he's really starting to get back into good goal-scoring form the last couple of weeks. And we all know that when Tévez plays well in the second leg, Juventus' chances of reaching the Europa League final become that much greater.</p>
<p>4. Who will start alongside Tévez?</p>
<p>Even though the Italian press correctly predicted that Mirko Vucinic would start next to Tévez in the first leg, I must say I was a little surprised that Conte went with what everybody was saying he would. And based on how ineffective Vucinic was for the vast majority of his time on the field in the first leg, a change as to who plays next to Carlitos could — and probably should — be in order. The question is this: Who is it going to be? It's really hard to get a grasp on where somebody like Fernando Llorente fits into the equation in the second leg. But if Conte wants to roll with what has basically had the big amount of success up top this season, then there's no doubt in my mind it should be Fernando starting next to Tévez tomorrow night.</p>
<p>5. Turning around the 2-1 deficit.</p>
<p>Save the best for last, right? Well, maybe not the best, but the most important thing Juventus needs to do tomorrow night. The "easiest" way? Juventus need a goal and a shutout to ensure a spot in the Europa League final. Okay, so that might not the easiest thing since it's the semifinals of the Europa League and Benfica is a good team, but it may be the easiest when it comes to advancing. No messing around with Benfica away goals, get a goal, get a win, get a spot in the Europa League final. It could be that simple. Or could be stressful as hell. I'll let all of you be the judge of that.</p>
<p>In short: "Vincere non è importante, è l'unica cosa che conta." Bingo.</p>
<p><b>My starting XI (4-3-3): </b>Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Pogba, Pirlo, Marchisio; Tévez, Llorente, Giovinco</p>
<p>(Yeah, you read that right. It probably won't happen, but I went there.)</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b>OFFICIAL KICKOFF TIME: 9:05 P.M. IN ITALY; 3:05 P.M. ON THE EAST COAST; 12:05 P.M. ON THE WEST COAST</b></p>
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https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2014/4/30/5651036/uefa-europa-league-preview-juventus-vs-benfica-semifinal-leg-2-please-win-please-winDanny Penza