Juventus vs. Monaco: Winners and Losers from Champions League Quarter-Final

Juventus welcomed AS Monaco to Turin on Tuesday evening, knowing the Ligue 1 side would be a difficult opponent in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final match.

UCL finalists back in 2004, Les Rouges et Blancs boast a formidable defensive record, and Juventus' Giorgio Chiellini told reporters at the pre-match press conference that the home side must remain alert, per Football Italia:

"

There is great respect on our part, we know the difficulties which we’ll face tomorrow and we’re ready. We’re under no illusions, and are not influenced by the excitement which perhaps is coming from outside, from those who underestimate Monaco. ... We’re not thinking like that, and we’re absolutely not making that mistake.

"

Having watched AS Monaco eliminate Arsenal in the previous round, the Bianconeri were aware of the quality within Leonardo Jardim’s well-drilled side and eventually found themselves winners by just a 1-0 scoreline.

The return to fitness of Andrea Pirlo helped them in that task, with the midfielder making his first appearance since a win over Borussia Dortmund on March 18.

Over the following slides we highlight some winners and losers from the encounter at Juventus Stadium.

Winner: Gigi Buffon, Juventus

Fabrizio Giovannozzi/Associated Press

Before the match was even 10 minutes old, Juventus were thankful that Gigi Buffon remains among the world’s best goalkeepers.

Anthony Martial burst beyond Juventus' Leonardo Bonucci and picked out the unmarked Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco, only for the Bianconeri captain to thwart his effort.

Shortly after, Buffon palmed a deflected shot from Carrasco around the post to keep the game scoreless, repeating that save when Bernardo Silva tested him early in the second half.

Winner: Arturo Vidal, Juventus

Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

When Arturo Vidal missed the best chance of the first half, it looked as though it could be the start of a bad evening for the Chilean midfielder. However, when Alvaro Morata won a penalty just before the hour mark, Vidal was presented with a perfect opportunity to redeem himself.

Thoughts of his spot-kick miss in the group stage must have been fresh in his memory, yet he made no mistake from 12 yards this time, giving the goalkeeper no chance with a well-struck effort.

Winner: Geoffrey Kondogbia, AS Monaco

Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

This game saw two well-matched sides battle hard for the duration of the contest, and for AS Monaco, nobody fought harder than Geoffrey Kondogbia.

The 22-year-old worked tirelessly on the left, pressing Stephan Lichtsteiner much deeper than usual and ensuring the Swiss full-back did not have many opportunities to break forward.

Winner: Massimiliano Allegri, Juventus

Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

In a tightly contested tactical battle, Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri ultimately won out against his opposite number, Leonardo Jardim.

A patient approach rewarded Allegri as his side emerged with a narrow victory, with his second-half switch to 3-5-2 ensuring they kept an all-important clean sheet.

Loser: Andrea Pirlo, Juventus

Massimo Pinca/Associated Press

While the Bianconeri were glad to welcome Andrea Pirlo back after three weeks on the sidelines due to a calf injury, the intense nature of the game eventually proved too much for the Italian international.

With AS Monaco pressing him wherever he went, space was difficult to find and rendered him unable to control the game in his usual manner.

Pirlo did find some joy when drifting wide, but all too often his usually excellent passing deserted him, and although statistics from WhoScored.com show he connected with 90.1 percent of his attempts, all too often they were ineffective balls to Leonardo Bonucci or Giorgio Chiellini.