Juve lose on penalties

Ranieri’s men clad in blue for the occasion, seem determined right from kick-off. The match is a good test before the second part of the season and it seems that the bianconeri know this well.

The first twenty minutes of the match are totally dominated by Juventus with Buffon between the posts from the first minute.

In the 3rd minute Nedved fires a powerful shot but the ball is safe in the hands of the goalkeeper. Two minutes later Amauri steals a ball and does a great run before shooting with the ball being saved by the goalkeeper. Del Piero does not manage to conclude from the rebound. In the sixth minute its Marchisio who shoots but the goalkeeper saves not withstanding the shot being powerful. Three minutes later Marchionni serves a great cross into the area with Amauri heading to goal but the Monaco goalkeeper saves into corner. From the subsequent corner Nedved shoots high over the post.

The 13th minute sees a touch of class by Del Piero who kicks the ball with his heel but the resulting shot is weak and the goalkeeper collects easily. Four minutes later a series of crosses ends with Nedved passing dangerously into the area but nobody manages to strike home from a very inviting position. In the 29th minute it’s the captain who tries to open the score with a shot that goes wide.

Notwithstanding the constant attacks by Juventus it is Monaco go ahead in the 34th minute. A defensive error leads to Legrottaglie grounding Adu in the area with the referee assigning a penalty in favour of the French side which is scored by Gakpè.

Juventus continue where they left off before the goal and in the 37th minute Amauri and Nedved both make an attempt at goal following a series of passes in the Monaco area but the ball is cleared by the defence. In the 42nd minute Del Piero from a free-kick shoots dangerously but the ball is central and the goalkeeper manages to save with some difficulty. Two minutes later it’s the Monaco goalkeeper who saves after a dangerous cross into the area.

At the end of the first half the referee awards free-kick for foul on Nedved. Del Piero takes it with the ball inches over the post.

The beginning of the second half is characterised by the substitution of 9 out of 11 of the Juventus formation with the only Ariaudo and Legrottaglie (sporting the captain’s band) remaining from the team of the first half.

In the 50th minute Monaco are awarded a free-kick after Manninger punched the ball outside of the area. The Austrian goalkeeper makes up with a great save. Three minutes later Giovinco passes to Iaquinta in the area but the Monaco defence manages to clear.

On the 54th minute De Ceglie passes to Giovinco after a good run who enters the area passing centrally but no bianconero is there to tap in. One minute later Giovinco dishes out a great shot but the goalkeeper saves. In the 57th minute Poulsen passes with his heel but the ball is cleared.

In the 65th minute Bad foul on Ekdal just outside the area lands Juventus a dangerous free-kick. Giovinco hits the post incredibly. Giovinco is showing his worth and this can bee seen from a series of good passes and attempts to goal such as the shot saved by Thuram in the 66th minute.

On the 70th minute its once again the Atomic Ant who goes close to scoring but the Monaco goalkeeper manages to put the ball into corner. It is time for yet another change for Juventus with Chimenti coming on for Manninger. Seven minutes later Juventus risk after a Salihamidzic error with the Bosnian who manages to make-up with a good clearance. On the 80th minute Iaquintra tries to head home following a good cross but Adriano clears well with the Juventus attacker touching the ball last.

The rhythm of the match clearly fell due to the many substitutions made. However, in the 83rd minute Giovinoc puts the ball high from a free-kick following a good action by the bianconeri. One minute later young Monaco player Germain heads the ball high from a dangerous position.

In the 85th minute Giovinco manages to go round a defender to enter the area but the Monaco defence clear into corner. Two minutes later Iaquinta passes to Giovinco following a good run on the right flank but the Monaco defence anticipate the young star.

On the 89th its Bakar for Monaco who shoots wide but the missed goal is soon turned into a goal for Juventus. A long pass which crosses most of the field reaches Iaquinta with the clever attacker who puts the ball behind Thuram for the 1-1 with the referee whistling 3 times for the end of the match.

The match goes to penalties with Monaco having the best after the only error from the 11 meters is committed by De Ceglie.

Penalty sequence:

Juventus: Giovinco (goal), Esposito (goal), Salihamidzic (goal), De Ceglie (saved), Legrottaglie (goal),

Monaco: Modesto (goal), Bulot (goal), Mollo (goal), Adriano (goal), Bakar (goal).



“Città di Messina” Trophy
Messina, Stadio San Filippo
Tuesday 6th January 2009

JUVENTUS-MONACO : 5-6 (1-1)
Scorers: 34th Gakpè (pen), Iaquinta (90th)

JUVENTUS: Buffon (Manninger 45th) (Chimenti 70th); Grygera (Salihamidzic 45th), Legrottaglie, Ariaudo, Molinaro (De Ceglie 45th); Marchionni (Esposito 45th), Sissoko (Poulsen 45th), Marchisio (Zanetti 45th), Nedved (Ekdal 45th); Amauri (Iaquinta 45th), Del Piero (Giovinco 45th). Reserves: Manninger, Chimenti, Mellberg, De Paola, De Ceglie, Salihamidzic, Zanetti, Poulsen, Ekdal, Esposito, Giovinco, Iaquinta. Coach: Ranieri.

MONACO: Ruffier (45th Thuram); Mongongu (Bulot 64th), Modesto, Adriano, Mangani; Leko (Dufau 73rd), Pokrivac, Sagbo (Mollo 64th) , Diaz (Nkuolou 74th); Adu (Germain 67th), Gakpé (Bakar 45th). Reserves: Thuram, Erichot, Courtois, Nkoulou, Melinte, Dufau, Padovani, Germain, Mollo, Bulot, Bakar. Coach: Ricardo.

Referee: Morganti di Ascoli Piceno.

Yellow cards: Nedved (38th)