Juventus vs. Monaco: Score, Grades and Reaction from Champions League

Juventus took a crucial advantage in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Monaco on Tuesday evening, booking a 1-0 win in the first leg of their encounter.

ESPN FC confirmed the result for the Italian giants, which puts them in good stead for next week's return fixture on the French Riviera:

As one of the competition's biggest remaining underdogs, Monaco may have been expected to bring a defensive and withdrawn approach to Turin, which is precisely how they lined up to begin with.

However, that isn't to suggest the Ligue 1 giants wouldn't pose any sort of threat, with Goal.com's Robin Bairner confirming their method of putting bodies behind the ball:

Leonardo Jardim appeared to have gotten his tactics spot on, as the Italian hosts proved susceptible to the quick break on numerous occasions.

Kris Voakes of Goal.com agreed that the Bianconeri looked like the second-best outfit for much of Tuesday's first half, with Monaco carrying on their fine form in continental competition:

While the Ligue 1 side may have struggled to maintain great passages of possession, it didn't dilute the quality of what unfolded when they did manage to find space on the ball.

Bairner again highlighted just how strong Monaco looked in absorbing pressure before dishing it back in equal measure, just as they did at the Emirates Stadium earlier in this campaign:

The Juve support will undoubtedly feel it was long overdue, but as the clock ticked nearer to the half-time whistle, that's when the hosts finally started to gain an edge through increased tempo.

Just prior to the end of the opening 45 minutes, Arturo Vidal had the half's best chance to score only to waste a fine opportunity carved open by Carlos Tevez:

Fortunately for manager Massimiliano Allegri, that sway in momentum appeared to carry through half-time and into the second period, where Juve competed with a little more initiative.

And it paid off in the 56th minute, as Ricardo Carvalho showed his age by committing a clumsy challenge on Alvaro Morata. Vidal was on hand to convert the resulting spot-kick from 12 yards out, per SkySportsCL:

Carvalho had reason to feel hard done by the official's decision, however, as Tancredi Palmeri of beIN Sports confirmed his foul should have resulted in nothing more than a free-kick:

Conceding first against top-tier Italian opposition is never an easy thing to come back from, and Allegri's men did their part to shield the advantage from there.

As pointed out by The Sun on Twitter, stopping the Juventus metronome in midfield was a challenge the visiting side struggled to overcome as possession flowed in favour of the home outfit:

In the end, Vidal's finish from 12 yards out proved to be the decider in what was a far more tender encounter than some might have envisioned, with Monaco far from out of semi-final contention.

The two teams will meet again next Wednesday for the return fixture, but the French representatives will no longer have the convenience of being able to sit back and await their foes.

An away goal may have made a great difference this evening and Jardim may rue his team's missed opportunities, although scoring against the Serie A titleholders would never be an easy feat.

For now, the advantage sits firmly in favour of Juventus. But with only a single goal separating the two teams, this clash is only just getting started.

Player Grades

Arturo Vidal: A-

Massimo Pinca/Associated Press

The Chile international may not yet be back to his career best, but Vidal sprung back from a disappointing start Tuesday to finish as one of the match's most impressive performers.

Once Juve's midfield tandem is in full swing, there aren't many evident ways to stop it. Vidal once again proved to be a versatile utility man capable of sitting or being the one to thrust forward and dish out the damage.

Geoffrey Kondogbia: B+

Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

Competing against a midfield like the one reigning supreme in Turin right now is an intimidating task, but French youngster Geoffrey Kondogbia showed glimpses of why he's so highly valued as a Ligue 1 prospect.

Per WhoScored.com, Kondogbia won all four of his attempted tackles and managed to emerge as one of Monaco's main threats on goal. His performance left BBC's John Bennett in admiration:

Gianluigi Buffon: A-

The 37-year-old veteran is deserving of his praise in fending off Monaco's challenge all evening, having had to reject his fair share of enemy advances.

The Italian stalwart showed there's spring in his legs yet by making four saves and proving to be Juve's hero more times than Allegri may have been comfortable with:

Post-Match Reaction

Jardim and Allegri were at loggerheads over how they felt Tuesday's result should have looked, with each coach defending his team's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, Juve boss Allegri enforced that his side deserved to claim the first-leg advantage, speaking to Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia), and picked out the talismanic Andrea Pirlo as his key man:

"

The result is good, as we didn’t concede on home turf and that is a small advantage. It will be different in Monaco, but they proved how organised they are in defence today with pace and technique in attack. They above all caused us problems in the first 15 minutes, as we waited for the pass between the lines rather than have the patience to wait for the right trajectory to open up.

Pirlo had a good 70 minutes, which is excellent considering he hadn’t played for 50 days. Set plays can be decisive in these games and I needed great quality on the passes to break through those tiny spaces, and in fact his pass was decisive for the penalty. Carlos Tevez had also been out for six days, so he too wasn’t quite as sharp as usual.

"

The visiting manager wasn't in agreement with his Italian counterpart, however, and insisted Monaco should not have come away from Turin with a one-goal deficit.

Jardim pulled no punches in his assessment of the match and was quoted by Goal.com's Bairner as illustrating just how upset he was heading toward next Wednesday's return leg:

Jardim also looked ahead to the second leg, via Get French Football: