How Locatelli And Yildiz Secured Champions League Berth For Juventus
Manuel Locatelli celebrates after the team's 3-2 victory against Venezia (Photo by Alessandro ...)
Knowing that victory in their final game of the 2024/25 campaign would secure a place in next season's UEFA Champions League for Juventus, Manuel Locatelli and Kenan Yildiz delivered.
The game against Venezia – themselves desperate for points to try to retain their Serie A status – was far from smooth sailing, particularly given the volume of players missing for the Bianconeri.
Still without injured defenders Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal, while Renato Veiga and Federico Gatti were only fit enough for a place on the bench. Add in a suspension for Pierre Kalulu and the options at the back seriously limited for boss Igor Tudor, who was ultimately forced to deploy a make-shift defence.
Setting up with Nicolo Savona, Alberto Costa and former Newcastle United man Lloyd Kelly in a back three, Juve found themselves undone almost immediately after the match got underway.
Some wonderful passing saw Venezia spreading the ball all over the pitch, ultimately resulting in Ridgeciano Haps' crossing from the left and Daniel Fila steering the ball into the back of the net.
With just over one minute played, the Bianconeri needed to react and Alberto Costa – signed in January from Vitoria Guimaraes – soon thought he had bagged his first Serie A goal only for VAR to rule that he had handled the ball prior to his shot from outside the area.
After good chances for Francisco Conceiçao and Randal Kolo Muani, it was time for Kenan Yildiz to step up. A smartly taken throw-in unleashed the Turkey international, who turned a Venezia defender inside out before driving a low, left-footed effort beyond Ionut Radu.
Soon after, the Bianconeri took the lead after a defensive mix up allowed Kolo Muani to break into the area, neatly controlling the ball before firing it beyond the helpless Venezia goalkeeper.
Half time came and went, but it seemed Juve had learnt nothing from the opening 45 minutes. Kelly was caught flat-footed by a long ball forward, allowing John Yeboah to burst into the box and pick out Haps who saw Savona turn his shot into the back of the net when Michele Di Gregorio had it covered.
The Juve goalkeeper was back in action a few minutes later, keeping the scores level with a superb one-handed save to deny Issa Doumbia before both teams began to play with much more caution.
With just 20 minutes to go, Conceiçao managed to isolate Hans Nicolussi Caviglia on the edge of the box and burst beyond him leaving the Venezia midfielder with little choice but to commit a foul.
Surprisingly it would be Manuel Locatelli who stepped up to take the penalty, placing a well-struck shot into the top corner. The skipper leapt over the hoardings and ran up the stadium steps to celebrate with Juventus fans, capping an excellent performance on the night.
According to statistics from WhoScored.com, Locatelli recorded three tackles, three clearances and one blocked shot while connecting with 74 passes as he controlled the tempo of Juve's attacks.
'I congratulate all the lads, we gave it our all,' the 27-year-old told Sky Italia after the final whistle. 'I am happy and proud to have scored this penalty, I am the captain and I had to take this responsibility. I'm happy with this victory and with qualifying for the next Champions League, which was our goal.'
With that mission accomplished, the players can briefly relax. With that Champions League berth secured, Juventus are back in action on June 19 when they take on Al-Ain at the FIFA Club World Cup.
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