Champions, Juve-Maccabi 3-1: first Juventus victory

Juventus beat Maccabi Haifa 3-1 on the third day of Group H of the Champions League, obtain their first victory after 2 defeats and keep alive the few hopes of qualifying for the round of 16. Allegri’s team, with 3 points, chases the pair formed by Benfica and Psg: Portuguese and French, who draw 1-1 in the direct clash in Lisbon, travel together at 7. On 11 October Juve visits Maccabi with the obligation to win to stay in the running. Read also THE MATCH – Juve could break through at the start, but Vlahovic doesn’t shine when shooting. The center forward in the 11th minute is rejected by the left-handed conclusion by Cohen and 2 minutes later wastes a colossal chance: penalty in motion, wrong aim and ball on the bottom. Allegri’s training tries to rely on Di Maria’s quality but struggles to create a game with continuity. Maccabi manages to freeze possession of the ball and limit the risks for an abundant half hour. At 35 ‘, however, Di Maria’s invention breaks the game. The Argentine lights up for Rabiot, who slips between the jerseys of the Israeli defense and breaks through the door with a left foot: 1-0. Di Maria gave an encore at the beginning of the second half giving Vlahovic the assist for the doubling. The Argentine brushes again, this time the Serbian makes no mistake in front of the goal: 2-0 in the 50th minute. Juve could spread in the 59th minute with the tried and tested script: Di Maria invents again, Vlahovic does not materialize. Maccabi shows up in the 62nd minute with Atzili, who looks for the joker from 25 meters: Szczesny deflects, the post does the rest. The escaped danger convinces the Turinese to accelerate again. Rabiot does not take advantage of a tempting chance, then it’s up to Vlahovic again to capitalize on the umpteenth invention of Di Maria: useless goal, there is an offside. In a one-way match, Juve managed to get into trouble at 75 ‘. Launch for David. Szczesny comes out on the trocar with the wrong timing of the intervention: 2-1 and the match reopened. The bianconeri tremble and in the 81st minute Maccabi’s equalizer seems to have been done: punishment by Atzili, the post saves the hosts. After nearly 10 minutes of nightmare, Rabiot arranges everything. Corner by Di Maria – just for a change – and header by the Frenchman, who signs the personal double and signs the 3-1 in the 83rd minute. Before the final whistle, Atzili completes his evening with a record: personal third post, game over.