If the fears surrounding a revamped and reshaped Champions League were that some of these extra group matches would lose steam, then this was a night to confirm some suspicions.
And what a shame. There is no end of beauty to conjure when you think of the great Crone of European football under the great old lights of Villa Park, but she moved with little purpose and those rays were the only source of brilliance.
The rest was forgettable, a dull gray, with the exception of two fleeting moments.
The second of them came three minutes into added time and had greater consequences, since Morgan Rogers thought he had scored the winning goal, but it was canceled out somewhat harshly by a challenge by Diego Carlos on the Juventus goalkeeper, Michele Di Gregorio, while they fought below. a high ball
As with many of the decisions made by referee Jesús Gil Manzano, it felt like too officious a call in a routine clash of shoulders, and yet to say either side deserved more than a point would be a risky move.
The only other ray of excitement, even quality, came half an hour before that high point, when Francisco Conceicao headed into a half-empty goal from four yards and Emiliano Martínez crossed his line and somehow prevented the ball from completely crossing the line. .
Aston Villa drew 0-0 against Juventus after Morgan Rogers’ late goal was disallowed.
The new England international thought he had scored the winning goal in added time.
Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio was fouled just before the goal.
With a push, he had two inches left before the goal-line technology sounded, making it a spectacular save. Before the match, the Argentine had displayed the trophy that had recently been awarded to him for being the best goalkeeper in the world; Making a stop like that on a cold, slow night was a good way to validate the judges.
More broadly, the draw keeps Villa in good health in the Champions League but failed to stop a winless streak that has now extended to seven. Now that Chelsea is the next target on his national agenda, it is urgent that Unai Emery breaks the inertia that has taken over his team.
Their presence in these European nights will make up for the ground lost in the Premier League, but curiously they lack confidence compared to what we saw last season. In another time they would have played faster and more aggressively, but here they seemed more afraid of losing, making this a missed opportunity against a young Juventus team that doesn’t have the vision of their famous name.
To understand where Juventus currently stand on the development curve, consider their team sheet: there were no recognized forwards in Thiago Motta’s starting eleven, no one over the age of 27 and only six men on the bench, two of whom were goalkeepers. Injuries have hit hard and often in a season in which they sit sixth in Serie A.
Of course, it’s still Juventus, but not as we know it, and certainly not like the 1983 vintage, when they were last at Villa Park with half a dozen members of Italy’s World Cup-winning team and Michel Platini.
From Villa’s perspective, Emery made three changes from the group that drew 2-2 against Crystal Palace on Saturday. Most notable among those arriving was Boubacar Kamara, who was considered fit enough for his first start in three weeks, but rarely looked as effective as he did alongside Douglas Luiz.
The latter’s move to Juventus has seemingly benefited nowhere beyond Villa’s counters, with Luiz injured and Kamara not generating the same synergy with those filling the space. Here, that meant being alongside Youri Tielemans, but, at least in the first half, they struggled to control the midfield.
As such, Juventus were able to dominate much of the possession, but with the exception of Francisco Conceicao lacked the dynamism to capitalize. He was animated; They were forceful.
Unai Emery needs to break the inertia that takes over his team at this point in the season
Emiliano Martínez appeared to mock his counterpart after the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
Of the opportunities that were created, Villa had the best. In one of the first plays, Pau Torres headed a Leon Bailey corner into the roof of the net and in the final moments Lucas Digne hit a free kick against the crossbar. Except for another Ollie Watkins drive that was saved by Michele Di Gregorio, there was almost nothing in between. For all the glory of the stage and occasion, this was turning into a mediocre match characterized by three Villa bookings, a difficult referee and not a single notable opening from Juve.
That will have partially satisfied Emery: he has recently stressed the need to strengthen the defense and, to that end, the first half was a success.
The second started with a bit of anxiety and, again, was caused by Conceicao, one of three children of famous parents on this team. As it happens, his father, Sergio, won the Cup Winners’ Cup on this ground with Lazio in 1999, and here the boy’s threat was demonstrated with a quick step around Digne and a shot that bounced off Torres’s elbow. The penalty appeal was unsuccessful.
Another of the sons, Khephren Thuram, did not impress as much with a chance on the hour mark, when he had a good view of goal from the edge of the area and hit his shot until the crowd burst into laughter. It was that kind of night, or it was until Emiliano Martínez injected some quality into it.
That came after 64 minutes, when Conceicao reacted quickly to a ball that bounced off a set piece at the far post and headed toward the bottom corner. Martinez dived low to his right and took him off his line with a fairly brilliant save, the importance of which was underlined by replays that showed the ball was no more than an inch or two from completely crossing. It was a brilliant intervention from a man who had so little to do.
At the other end, John McGinn had a shot which was cleared by Manuel Locatelli before Rogers caused a moment of excitement at the death which seemed out of keeping with the game and was duly ruled out.