Monaco vs. Juventus: Score, Grades and Reaction from CL Quarter-Final 2nd Leg

Juventus advanced to the 2014–15 Champions League semi-finals with a 1-0 aggregate triumph over Monaco. Wednesday's second leg finished with a 0-0 score.

The Bianconeri entered the rematch with a slight one-goal edge after scoring a home win last week. It came by way of an Arturo Vidal penalty kick that was controversially awarded after Ricardo Carvalho fouled Alvaro Morata on the edge of the area.

With Juventus holding the advantage, the Italian side were predictably cautious in the opening 45 minutes. They didn't want to make any mistakes that would shift the momentum in Monaco's favor in the blink of an eye, as was the case for Porto against Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

The French club were able to dominate possession, holding the ball for nearly 60 percent of the first half. The struggle came when trying to create good scoring opportunities. The Rouge and Blanc generated seven shots before the break, but only one was on frame.

Luca Persico of Sambafoot provided some analysis on a pretty nondescript half:   

David Swan of Football Italia didn't think Juve were playing the right brand of football:

As expected, Monaco started to push the pace a little more after half-time, needing a goal. They were finally able to get a couple of chances closer to goal in the first few minutes of the second. The closest was cleared away from the line by Patrice Evra.

John Bennett of BBC World Service observed a lack of composure from Juve during those tension-filled minutes:

As the second-half clock ticked, Monaco's consistent attack presence was impressive. Matteo Bonetti of BeIN Sports noted the sustained effort:

The needed goal continued to elude them, however.

As Bonetti predicted, Monaco seemed to wear down in the latter stages. Juventus were finally able to put together some extended stretches of possession, heading into the corners and wasting as much time as possible.

That allowed the Bianconeri to reach the finish line with the necessary 0-0 draw to advance.

Juventus celebrated the result:

Tancredi Palmeri of CNN noted it's been well over a decade since they advanced this far:

Ultimately, it wasn't the most entertaining encounter of the quarter-final round by any measure. The second leg was in particular more of an endurance test for Juve than anything else. They were able to thwart the Monaco attack long enough to advance.

Key Player Grades

Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus): A-

Bonucci was a stabilizing force in the middle of the defense at the most important moments. Monaco were able to turn up the heat, especially in the second half, but he made several key tackles to keep them out of dangerous areas. He kept the back line in order amid pressure.

Arturo Vidal (Juventus): B+

Vidal was one of the few Juve players who was able to hold possession. He did well to create space in the middle to burn time and tracked back to make some nice defensive plays. Vidal lived up to his reputation as a highly reliable box-to-box midfielder.

Joao Moutinho (Monaco): C-

At a time when Monaco needed some creativity to spark the attack, he wasn't able to provide nearly enough. Moutinho should have done more given the amount of possession he had with Juve settling into a defensive posture. There were only a few glimpses of strong play.

Dimitar Berbatov (Monaco): C

Monaco brought the veteran striker on at half-time to provide another attacking presence, but Berbatov struggled to find time and space against a steady Bianconeri defensive group. He wasn't able to come up with the moment of brilliance his side needed on this night.

Post-Match Reaction

Juventus passed along comments from goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon:

The club also highlighted remarks from Leonardo Bonucci regarding potential opponents in the next round:

As GFFNPressConferences shared, Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim looked back on his team's Champions League run with pride:

Prince Albert of Monaco chimed in on the match as well, and he believed the hosts deserved better than the 0-0 final score indicated:

The Bianconeri hold a massive lead in the Italian Serie A and have already qualified for the final of the Coppa Italia, so the team can now shift its full focus to the Champions League semi-finals. Juventus may not be as inexperienced as the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona or Real Madrid at this level, but they'll represent a difficult opponent regardless.

The Italian champions have one of the top defensive units in all of Europe and will likely be boosted by the return of star midfielder Paul Pogba before the first leg of their next Champions League tie. Underestimate the Old Lady at your own risk.

Monaco have fallen behind in the Ligue 1 standings and will now look to secure a top-three finish and a return to next year's Champions League.