Recap: Juventus survives Chiellini absence with help from Ronaldo
By John Vaccaro
When Giorgio Chiellini‘s injury was announced many Juventus fans (myself included) were surely concerned about the first leg against Ajax.
Those fans will certainly be pleased to see Juve heading back to Torino with a draw and the advantage on away goals in this Champions League tie. This is especially true after seeing just what it took for Juventus to get that draw.
Ajax appeared took control of the match early, applying pressure on a Juventus defense that seemed to lack confidence without their captain available. Ajax turned that pressure into some early chances for Hakim Ziyech, one of which required a fantastic save from Wojciech Szczesny to keep the match level.
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After the two Ziyech chances, Donny van de Beek managed to get space in the box but sent a shot that seemed destined to open the scoring wide of the post. Federico Bernardeschi nearly made them pay for wasting those chances in the 36th minute, but also sent his shot wide.
Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t quite so kind to Ajax. Joao Cancelo found space down the right side and lofted a ball perfectly into the box for a Ronaldo header just before first half stoppage time. It suddenly looked like Juve might leave Amsterdam with a win in a match where they had been dominated from the start.
Ajax dispelled that notion quickly in the second half. Cancelo took a poor touch around midfield that David Neres used to win the ball and he took the ball the rest of the way to give Ajax an equalizer. His finish was perfect and Szczesny never had a chance to save it. Neither team was able to create much of anything the rest of the way until one of Juve’s subs nearly made the difference.
Douglas Costa got the ball on the left wing and then absolutely shredded Ajax’s defense, blowing past two defenders on his way into the box. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to get the finish and put his shot off the post.
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The match ended at 1-1, which Juventus has to see as a win with how vulnerable the defense has looked without Giorgio Chiellini. Now they’ll head back to Allianz Stadium with the edge on away goals and will be hoping their captain is able to return in a week to hold onto that advantage.