Juventus 3-0 Bayer Leverkusen
Juventus now share the top spot with Atletico Madrid in Group D after they demolished Bayer Leverkusen with a score of 3-0 in the group phase of the ongoing Champions League.
Veteran forward Gonzalo Higuain set the tone early by scoring the first goal and assisted on the second, while Cristiano Ronaldo capped off Juve’s splendid performance by putting one in of his own during the game’s last few minutes.
It was a good bounce-back win for I Bianconeri after squandering a two-goal lead against Atletico Madrid a few weeks ago to kick off the tournament’s group phase.
Speaking of Atletico Madrid, they also won handily against Lokomotiv with a 2-0 tally. Both them and Juventus have four points each while Lokomotiv have three and Bayer Leverkusen are at the bottom of the group with zero.
Maurizio Sarri’s side is currently on a roll and for sure their Champions League 2019 odds of making it far are very likely at reach.
Let SBOBET breeze you through some of the best Champions League 2019 highlights in this matchup.
Highlights of the game
Paulo Dybala was not inserted in Juve’s starting XI but he wasn’t needed much in this fixture especially when their vaunted attack led by Gonzalo Higuain, Federico Bernardeschi, and Cristiano Ronaldo proved to be too much for the hapless Bayer Leverkusen side.
Bayer had a hard time to get a shot on target but a Kerem Demirbay attack on the left flank gave them some encouragement in around the eighth minute. His shot, however, floated right over the goal or else that would’ve been the first goal of the evening.
For a long while, this game was a low-key affair up until the 17th-minute goal of Gonzalo Higuain. After a mistimed header by Jonathan Tah to clear out Juan Cuadrado’s long ball, Higuain pounced on the opportunity and kicked in a clinical finish in just two touches.
Higuain almost had a good chance 11 minutes later when a long ball was directed towards him. However, Lukas Hradecky was alert enough to head the ball out before the Argentinean gets a full head of steam and the latter was called for an offside.
I Bianconeri’s defence was a fortress for the whole game as Pete Bosz’s men have had a hard time getting it in the box and it’s clear that they were missing the services of Lars Bender, who was out due to an injury.
On the other hand, Ronaldo was yet to make an impact and he almost did so during the 57th minute. Juan Cuadrado found Ronaldo running inside the box but the latter’s shot went flat and Hradecky deflected it out of harm’s way.
Juventus would pour in their second goal of the match four minutes later when Gonzalo Higuain crossed the ball over in the middle of the box to find its way to Federico Bernardeschi, who smashed home a leftie strike, giving the home crowd another reason to celebrate.
Higuain could’ve had another assist with his low left-wing pass to Ronaldo, but the latter uncharacteristically shot the ball right at Hradecky who’s had another wonderful save.
Paulinho would kick in a Hail Mary attempt for Bayer in the 78th minute after running past Juve’s defenders, but he overcooked his attempt and it went over the net. The Pete Bosz-mentored squad would have few more shots in the last 10 minutes but none of them found the target still.
Third time become a charm for Cristiano Ronaldo at the 88th minute when Paulo Dybala found him free at the right side and the former gets one to go in. That goal gave Ronaldo some key milestones under his name.
Key statistics
Bayer Leverkusen had more possession in this game, but their inability to get great chances was evident in this one since they had zero shots on target. The Serie A defending champions, on the other hand, had seven.
Juve’s win against Bayer marks new milestones for Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese sensation has overtaken his former teammate Iker Casillas for most UCL wins in history (102).
His goal total equals Raul for most UCL opponents scored against (33), and he’s scored already in 14 consecutive UCL seasons. All in all, Ronaldo has 127 goals in 164 Champions League matches.
What’s next?
The home team will return to Serie A action in a mouth-watering affair against rivals Inter Milan in the Derby D’Italia on Monday. Their next fixture at the group phase of the Champions League will against Lokomotiv Moscow at the Juventus Stadium on October 23rd.
Bayer Leverkusen, meanwhile, will host Bundesliga league leader RB Leipzig on Saturday. They’ll get to face Atletico Madrid next to round up the group phase matches in the Champions League.
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