Juventus marched into the Champions League last 16 following a priceless away victory over Shakhtar Donetsk at the Donbass Arena.
The triumph, which sees the Bianconeri top Group E, was the perfect reward for a gritty display on a pulsating night of European football.
The headline news concerning Antonio Conte’s starting line-up was the inclusion of late fitness doubt Chiellini. The defender came through yesterday’s training session unscathed and took his place on the left side of the three-man rearguard. Elsewhere, Pogba replaced the suspended Marchisio while Giovinco was chosen to partner Vucinic following his goalscoring contribution in last Saturday’s derby success over Torino.
Conte’s opposite number Mircea Lucescu was without talismanic frontman Luiz Adriano following the Brazilian’s one-match ban in the wake of Shakhtar’s 5-2 demolition of Nordsjaelland. He was replaced by Eduardo, with the former Arsenal hitman deployed in a lone striking role.
The hosts, backed by a vociferous crowd in the cauldron of the Donbass Arena, began in the ascendancy and pushed Juventus back in an aggressive opening few minutes.
Having weathered the initial storm, Conte’s men looked to catch their opponents unawares with a slick counter-attacking move on eight minutes. Finding himself in space on the right flank, Giovinco spotted Vucinic drifting away from his marker and clipped in a cross which was sent skywards by the Montenegrin.
Shakhtar, driven forward by the creative influence of Willian, were next to try their luck but Buffon was on hand to gather comfortably after Fernandinho prodded a weak shot goalwards.
As the minutes ticked by, Juventus settled into their passing rhythm and carved out the best opportunity of a relatively balanced first half when Vucinic shrugged off the attentions of his marker and squared for Giovinco. The diminutive striker caught sight of the target but saw his delicately placed left-footed strike roll agonisingly wide of the post on 29 minutes.
With the shackles now removed, the Bianconeri became even more adventurous in their approach. Pirlo saw a long-range effort skew wide of goal, Pogba’s slide rule pass was fractionally overhit for the run of Vucinic and Lichtsteiner’s fizzed cross was scrambled clear as a host of Juventus bodies prepared to pounce in the area.
The second half began at a ferocious pace and it was the hosts who almost drew first blood when Rakitskiy stung Buffon’s fingertips with a firmly struck free-kick from the edge of the area.
Undeterred, Juventus lifted themselves and were left cursing their luck when Pirlo saw his left-footed strike bounce off the post after skipping away from his marker on 52 minutes.
Four minutes later, however, the visitors were in front. Lichtsteiner’s firm cross caused panic in the Shakhtar rearguard, causing Kucher to turn the ball past his own goalkeeper under pressure from Giovinco.
Shakhtar huffed and puffed and went close to getting back into the affair when Ilsinho, on for Teixeira, arrived late in the box and struck the post on 66 minutes.
But the Bianconeri held firm to seal a memorable success which prolongs their European adventure.
SHAKHTAR DONETSK 0-1 JUVENTUS
GOAL: Kucher (og) 57
SHAKHTAR DONETSK
Pyatov; Srna, Kucher, Rakitskiy, Rat; Fernandinho, Stepanenko; Teixeira (Ilsinho 65), Mkhitaryan, Willian; Eduardo (Devic 46).
Subs not used: Kanibolotskiy, Kryvtsov, Gai, Kobin, Douglas Costa.
Coach: Lucescu.
Source: Juventus.com
The triumph, which sees the Bianconeri top Group E, was the perfect reward for a gritty display on a pulsating night of European football.
The headline news concerning Antonio Conte’s starting line-up was the inclusion of late fitness doubt Chiellini. The defender came through yesterday’s training session unscathed and took his place on the left side of the three-man rearguard. Elsewhere, Pogba replaced the suspended Marchisio while Giovinco was chosen to partner Vucinic following his goalscoring contribution in last Saturday’s derby success over Torino.
Conte’s opposite number Mircea Lucescu was without talismanic frontman Luiz Adriano following the Brazilian’s one-match ban in the wake of Shakhtar’s 5-2 demolition of Nordsjaelland. He was replaced by Eduardo, with the former Arsenal hitman deployed in a lone striking role.
The hosts, backed by a vociferous crowd in the cauldron of the Donbass Arena, began in the ascendancy and pushed Juventus back in an aggressive opening few minutes.
Having weathered the initial storm, Conte’s men looked to catch their opponents unawares with a slick counter-attacking move on eight minutes. Finding himself in space on the right flank, Giovinco spotted Vucinic drifting away from his marker and clipped in a cross which was sent skywards by the Montenegrin.
Shakhtar, driven forward by the creative influence of Willian, were next to try their luck but Buffon was on hand to gather comfortably after Fernandinho prodded a weak shot goalwards.
As the minutes ticked by, Juventus settled into their passing rhythm and carved out the best opportunity of a relatively balanced first half when Vucinic shrugged off the attentions of his marker and squared for Giovinco. The diminutive striker caught sight of the target but saw his delicately placed left-footed strike roll agonisingly wide of the post on 29 minutes.
With the shackles now removed, the Bianconeri became even more adventurous in their approach. Pirlo saw a long-range effort skew wide of goal, Pogba’s slide rule pass was fractionally overhit for the run of Vucinic and Lichtsteiner’s fizzed cross was scrambled clear as a host of Juventus bodies prepared to pounce in the area.
The second half began at a ferocious pace and it was the hosts who almost drew first blood when Rakitskiy stung Buffon’s fingertips with a firmly struck free-kick from the edge of the area.
Undeterred, Juventus lifted themselves and were left cursing their luck when Pirlo saw his left-footed strike bounce off the post after skipping away from his marker on 52 minutes.
Four minutes later, however, the visitors were in front. Lichtsteiner’s firm cross caused panic in the Shakhtar rearguard, causing Kucher to turn the ball past his own goalkeeper under pressure from Giovinco.
Shakhtar huffed and puffed and went close to getting back into the affair when Ilsinho, on for Teixeira, arrived late in the box and struck the post on 66 minutes.
But the Bianconeri held firm to seal a memorable success which prolongs their European adventure.
SHAKHTAR DONETSK 0-1 JUVENTUS
GOAL: Kucher (og) 57
SHAKHTAR DONETSK
Pyatov; Srna, Kucher, Rakitskiy, Rat; Fernandinho, Stepanenko; Teixeira (Ilsinho 65), Mkhitaryan, Willian; Eduardo (Devic 46).
Subs not used: Kanibolotskiy, Kryvtsov, Gai, Kobin, Douglas Costa.
Coach: Lucescu.
Source: Juventus.com
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