Vibrant Monaco faces Juve wall in UCL semifinal
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MONACO has scored plenty of goals this season and boasts one of European soccer’s most exciting newcomers in striker Kylian Mbappe but that might not be enough to break down the defensive wall of Juventus in the UEFA Champions League semifinals.
Mbappe, 18, has scored 18 goals in his last 18 competitive games, including three in the 6-3 aggregate win over Germany’s Borussia Dortmund in the last eight.
The Frenchman’s powerful running, skill, sheer pace, and cool finishing make him a mix between compatriot Thierry Henry and Brazil great Ronaldo.
The pacy forward also provides a symbol for the rise of a fine counter-attacking team featuring other dangerous players such as Colombian marksman Radamel Falcao.
It takes more than that, however, to impress Juventus, the tightest defense in Europe’s top club competition with just two goals conceded in this campaign.
“Even Barcelona could not score in two games against them so it will be complicated for us”, Monaco’s Poland defender Kamil Glik said ahead of today’s first leg in the principality.
The Italian champion, which advanced to the last four with an aggregate 3-0 win over Barcelona, was held to a 2-2 draw at Atalanta in a rare defensive mix-up in Serie A last Friday.
Its pedigree and record for being impregnable when it matters, however, suggest Juventus should be regarded as the favorite to advance.
“Monaco have technical and tactical qualities as well as talented young players,” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said. “They do not have the same history as Juventus but that does not mean it will be easy for us to make it to the final.”
While Allegri can rely on a fully-fit squad, his Monaco counterpart Leonardo Jardim, criticized for fielding a B-team in a 0-5 French Cup semifinal thrashing by Paris Saint-Germain last week, has a defensive worry with midfield dynamo Tiemoue Bakayoko doubtful due to a broken nose.
Monaco has shone in Europe and at home this season and its domestic title hopes received a welcome boost when a nervous PSG side lost 1-3 at Nice on Sunday, leaving the club from the French Riviera three points clear at the top with a game in hand.
Juventus, meanwhile, is closing in on a record sixth straight Serie A title and can turn to its European history for inspiration, having won the showcase club competition twice, in 1985 and 1996.
Monaco, by contrast, reached the UCL final only once, in 2004, losing 0-3 to a Porto side coached by Jose Mourinho after a great run featuring wins over Real Madrid and Chelsea.
The sides have faced each other twice before on the UCL stage with Juventus winning both ties, in the 1998 semifinals and the 2015 quarters.
Juventus has never been eliminated by a French team in 11 previous meetings in European club competitions.
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