No Ronaldo, No Problem for Juventus

Irwin Wang (10) | STAFF REPORTER

It was the game we had all been waiting for. On November 26 in Turin, two giants clashed again in the Champions League Group Stage for matchday 5: Juventus and Atletico Madrid. The two drew during their previous match back in September, and both teams were looking this time to set it even.

Juventus dominated the possession but struggled to break through the compact and well-organized Atletico Madrid defense the first half, and for many fans, the biggest game of the group stage turned into a snooze-fest as Juventus struggled to do anything meaningful with the ball. Ronaldo was noticeably sluggish compared to his usual performances, and at times, he seemed invisible. In fact, he only received a 5/10 from sport360. However, that was expected as the superstar is still returning from injury.

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With almost the last kick before half-time, Juventus was awarded a free-kick nearly parallel to the net. No one was expecting anything more than a cross from such an awkward position, but not Juventus striker Paulo Dybala. The Argentine curved an absolute rocket into the top right corner, bar down, awakening all the slumbering fans and throwing the Allianz Stadium into a frenzy in what has got to be one of the best goals we’ve seen this season.

Alvaro Morata especially was marked vigorously by defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Matthijs De Ligt, giving the striker little breathing room throughout the entire game. The only other highlight worth mentioning was when Juventus clumsily lost possession in their own half to 20-year-old Joao Felix, who passed a through ball with the outside of his foot to Angel Correra, and the only thing between him and the net was the Juventus keeper. Then out of nowhere, centre-back Matthijs De Ligt silenced Athletico fans with what has got to be the most rugged yet elegant tackle one has ever seen. Athletico failed to convert the following corner and Juventus fans rejoiced in their club spending 84 million USD on signing the defender last transfer window.

Juventus held on to their lead and won the game to secure qualification to the knock-out stages of the tournament as well as the top spot in Group D. The game showed Juventus is perfectly capable of winning big games without Cristiano Ronaldo, but the match just isn’t as dramatic when CR7 doesn’t set the stage.