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Atlético Madrid beat Juventus to kick-start Champions League campaign
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(6 months later)
Atlético Madrid reignited their Champions League campaign when Arda Turan struck 15 minutes from time to give last season’s beaten finalists victory over Juventus in Group A on Wednesday.
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Beaten 3-2 at Olympiakos in their opening game two weeks ago, Atlético hassled and harried the Italian champions at the Vicente Calderón stadium and were rewarded in the 75th minute when the Turkey midfielder Arda poked the ball into the net from close range.
“It was a match full of passion against one of the best teams in Europe,” the Atlético full-back Juanfran told Spanish television. “We did some great work and the win was deserved,” added the Spain international, who provided the cross from the right wing for Arda’s goal.
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Neither side created many chances in an intense encounter and the victory puts Atlético firmly back on track to qualify from a group that also includes Malmo. The Swedish side won 2-0 at home to Olympiakos to leave all four teams on three points from two matches.
The Atlético fans unveiled a banner reading “Feared in Europe” shortly before kick-off and the home players went after Juventus from the start, deploying the high-intensity pressing game that served them so well last season.
Mario Mandzukic had Atlético’s best chance of a tight first half when Juventus surrendered possession close to their penalty area in the 25th minute and the Croatia forward smashed a low shot towards goal that the goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon palmed away.
At the other end the Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba found space eight minutes later but his curling effort drifted wide.
Juventus came close to a late equaliser when Atlético’s captain, Raúl García, almost turned a Stephan Lichtsteiner cross into his own net but the Spanish champions held on to win.
“We have to improve in order to create more opportunities to score in away games like this,” Buffon said afterwards. “I think we were controlling the game quite well but we probably had to be braver and go for the victory instead.
“It was a very balanced game. We did not create many opportunities to score but I think the draw would have been a fair result. Atlético are known for not giving you space. It’s never easy to play against them because they defend like one block.”
Meanwhile, Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone singled out Arda’s talent in his news conference. “Arda is a special player,” he said, adding that they had practiced the move that led to the goal in training.
“Juanfran did very well with the cross,” Simeone said. “Mandzukic missed but Arda arrived as we had practiced.”
Arda joined Atlético from Galatasaray in his native Istanbul in 2011 and has become a huge favourite among Atlético fans and an important part of their success in recent seasons.
“I think when he plays in a free role he loses something but when he plays in a fixed position he is extraordinary because he has tactical talent,” Simeone said. “He creates the perfect amount of time and space for the full-backs to attack.”
Juventus were missing their Italy playmaker Andrea Pirlo, who has a hip injury, and coach Massimiliano Allegri said the team had been let down by a lack of quality in their passing.
“I think our approach was good,” said Allegri. “We tried to win the game and just missed some important passes when we had good chances to counterattack. We are very angry for this defeat but the group is still very open and not much has changed for us.”
