Sevilla vs. Juventus: Winners and Losers from Champions League
All Juventus needed to win Group D in the Champions League was a point. In that scenario, head-to-head tiebreakers would've given them the group over Manchester City even with the teams level on points.
But they didn't get that point. A looped header by former Juve striker Fernando Llorente, plus an incredible comeback by City that saw them put three goals past Borussia Monchengladbach in the space of six minutes after trailing going into the 80th minute, saw the English team leapfrog the Bianconeri and into the top spot.
Massimiliano Allegri's men now must rely on the kind of luck they rode in last year's knockout rounds to avoid the likes of Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the early rounds come the draw on Monday.
In reality it shouldn't have come to this. Juve spurned a few excellent chances in the first half, and they should've been up by at least two at the break. After Llorente headed in off a corner, Unai Emery's men closed ranks and refused to allow the Bianconeri through.
Even then, Juve very nearly snatched their point at the end when Paulo Dybala nearly broke the crossbar from range with eight minutes left. At the end of the day, those misses—plus a fantastic goalkeeping performance—kept the scoreline 1-0.
Who were the winners and losers from tonight's match? Let's take a close look at some of the best—and worst—performers.
Winner: Sergio Rico
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Simply put, Sergio Rico gave the goalkeeping performance of the tournament so far this season on Tuesday. He faced down eight shots on target on the night and didn't let a single one through.
They weren't routine either. He parried from a strong Stefano Sturaro header in the 17th minute, a wicked curling free-kick from Dybala just before half-time, and an even filthier long-range drive from Paul Pogba three minutes after the restart. Two minutes into stoppage time, he somehow flicked a close-range poke from Alvaro Morata over the line for a corner after a wonderful move saw Juan Cuadrado set the Spaniard up.
He also claimed numerous crosses from the wings, simply refusing to let a ball past him. Sevilla are in the Europa League because he carried them there. This was a fantastic performance that should be remembered in Andalusia for a long time.
Loser: Alvaro Morata
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With Mario Mandzukic out with the flu and Simone Zaza also unavailable, Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala were on their own up front for Juve.
Morata, so critical in the Champions League last year and early this season, didn't do what was needed.
The former Real Madrid man seemed that last inch off all night, but nothing was more glaring than what happened in the 23rd minute.
A perfect pass from Sturaro found Dybala, who headed the ball towards the onrushing, totally unmarked Morata.
A few things happened from a technical perspective here. The ball didn't get to him on the fly, taking a short hoop just before it hit his boot, which was at full stretch. It then hit the bottom of his cleats, careening the ball's width beyond the wrong side of the post. Regardless of the bobble, it was a chance that was easier to convert than to miss.
There were more issues as the game wore on. He went down too easily on several occasions—a failing that is becoming a recurring theme for him—and on at least one more, he took an extra touch when he should have put the ball on goal.
Ironically, this performance isn't a reason to bench the 23-year-old but to play him more.
Morata has steadily lost playing time to Mandzukic over the last month, only really playing in 20- to 25-minute chunks. That's no way to get into a rhythm, and it's seen him fall into some of the bad habits he displayed at the beginning of last year before he replaced Llorente in the starting lineup in the second half of the season.
The only way to cure that is more playing time. As well as Mandzukic has played the last few weeks, he's not the future of this team—Morata is, along with Dybala.
Early on, he looked like a man bent on gaining his place back. He very nearly intercepted a pass from Sandro to his defence within the game's first 30 seconds and pressed hard up the field early. But just like early last year, his lack of playing time has caused him to try to do too much on his own, which was his main problem today.
Morata needs to be allowed to play his way back into form—with a tough draw coming up, Juve can't afford to have him otherwise come February.
Winner: Fernando Llorente
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There was no acrimony surrounding Llorente's departure from Juve this season. He simply wished for more playing time and Juve granted that request.
But it has to feel good to score a goal that big against your old team.
Llorente probably didn't know too much about the header that broke the deadlock—he was engaged in a tussle with Andrea Barzagli and the ball hit him in the back of the head. But solid contact probably would've put it right into Gianluigi Buffon's lap—instead it glanced off him at precisely the right angle to loop into the one place his old team-mate couldn't get to.
To Llorente's credit, he kept his celebrations to a few low-key fist-pumps—a classy move from a classy player.
Llorente's return to Sevilla's lineup has been a big part of their resurgence, and now that they're in the Europa League, he may have a big chance to claim the European trophy that eluded him in 2012 with Athletic Bilbao.
Loser: Massimiliano Allegri
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Massimiliano Allegri didn't have many choices on Tuesday. Injuries and illness forced his hand both in his choice of formation and starting XI.
He had only two outfield players with senior caps on his bench. The other three were all academy products who are on the squad to comply with UEFA regulations about homegrown talent.
But it's strange how Allegri seems totally unable to get much out of the 3-5-2.
His decision to stay with the system through the early stages of last season was a wise one. After the traumatic departure of Antonio Conte two days into training camp, it was better to give the players something they were familiar with.
But from the beginning, Allegri has been unable to get the kind of production out of the formation that his predecessor did. Conte turned his 3-5-2 sides into offensive juggernauts—Allegri's teams often struggle to create anything out of the formation.
Much of this has to do with style. Conte's teams were often meticulously choreographed, producing fantastic team moves. Tactics created the chances, individual quality finished them off. Allegri tends to rely on individual skill for both—a key difference in the way their respective 3-5-2s work. As a result, Juve tend to let fly a lot of low-percentage shots from distance. They don't unlock defenses as they once did—and with one or two exceptions tonight was no different.
Regardless of the philosophical differences, the fact of the matter is that with players this talented, Juve should be able to create better chances out of whatever formation.
With no real relief on the horizon in terms of injury returns and a crunch match against Fiorentina coming on Sunday, Allegri needs to figure out the 3-5-2—and fast.
Winner: Gianluigi Buffon
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Gianluigi Buffon was on fire tonight.
He made about as many highlight-reel saves as Rico did on the night, including a double save on 19 minutes and the aforementioned parry of a low Llorente header off a free-kick in the 31st. On the hour, he denied Ever Banega from range after a free-kick rebounded to the Argentinian.
A late stop from a long-range bolt from Michael Krohn-Delhi kept Juve in it, and two minutes later, he came out and forced Kevin Gameiro to shoot wide at the near post.
Were it not for Llorente putting the ball in the one place Buffon couldn't get it from a corner, the goalkeeper would've won Juve the group.
Anyone who doubts the man, even at age 37, simply doesn't know football. It was another top performance from perhaps the greatest goalkeeper ever to put on gloves.
Loser: Juve on Set Pieces
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Juve's defense was leaky during the beginning of the season, but they're still the best back line in Europe from an ability perspective. And in the last month, they have roared back with a vengeance, allowing only one goal in five matches, including four consecutive clean sheets.
But they need to figure out what's wrong with their set-piece defence. Corners in particular have been unkind to the Bianconeri—just look at the points dropped to Frosinone in the dying seconds of that game.
Llorente's goal wasn't the only chance he had from a dead-ball situation—he also had a great header from a free-kick on half an hour that Buffon smartly parried. The team allowed too many dangerous situations from the follow-ups of such situations as well, particularly Banega's rocket shot in the 62nd minute.
With set pieces causing another setback, an adjustment has to be made. Teams don't go deep into the Champions League giving up so many opportunities from dead balls.
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