Juventus are shipwrecked in Israel and on the brink of elimination

JUventus is on the verge of elimination in this Champions League after the surprise reception, but with total justice, their third defeat in group H against Maccabi Haifa (2-0) and at the expense of a miracle to pass the round of 16 .

In the absence of the result of PSG-Benfica, which both tied with 7 points, tonight, Juventus barely added 3 and the French and Portuguese have not met in the last two days.

The sad truth of Juve

Winning both games seems like a pipe dream given the disappointing performance shown by the Turin team this season, who lost on Saturday to Milan (2-0) and are eighth in Serie A, 10 points behind leaders Naples . Against the ropes in both competitions, Massimiliano Allegri’s future on the bench is increasingly compromised.

Maccabi Haifa literally overwhelmed Juventus in an offensive game, the ambitious 4-3-3 of their coach Barak Bakhar and the infernal pace from the first minute revealing the alarming weakness of the ‘bianconera’ defence.

A leaky defense

Every attack, every cross into the area caused panic in the visiting area and Wojciech Szczesny, on 3 minutes, had to work hard to get a header from Frantzdy Pierrot.

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A warning from which an all-conquering Juventus did not learn, who did not take long to concede the first goal with another center from the left by Frenchman Pierre Cornud who headed Omer Atzili into the net with an unorthodox but effective shot as he pushes the ball with his back and back into the goal (6′).

Maccabi Haifa were not satisfied and kept up the pressure on Juve, who were saved from 2-0 by the crossbar thanks to Tjaronn Chery’s free-kick (11′).

Atzili, a nightmare

Atzili, the top scorer in the Israeli league with 6 goals and former Granada player in the 2016-17 season, was always a nightmare for the ‘bianconeri’ defenders and, two minutes later, he took a shot that required a brilliant response from Szczesny.

Juve were completely overwhelmed at the Sammy Ofer Stadium and the panorama became more complicated when Ángel Di María retired after injuring his left thigh while trying to run (23′). The Argentine, key to the ‘vecchia signora’, provided three assists for the goals against Maccabi on Wednesday in Turin (3-1).

Without Di María, Juve run out of arguments

Without their most unbalanced player, Juve seemed to gain meters but, predictably with their game, they could barely manage two shots on target.

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It was a mirage as Maccabi came back on the charge and Atzili made it 2-0 with a cross from Dean David who connected with a fantastic volley that almost missed the mark (34′).

Atzili strikes again

Before the break, Atzili left Juve ‘groggy’ by scoring his second goal by nailing, in the face of Alex Sandro’s passivity to block, a left-footed shot from the right of the area towards at the short post which doubled in the hands of Szczesny ( 41′).

Juve had time to cut the score short before retiring to the locker room on their only occasion in the first half. A cross from Juan Cuadrado was headed home by Dusan Vlahovic’s power, goalkeeper Joshua Cohen saved and Arkadiusz Milik was unable to push the ball into the net on the rebound.

Juve reacted after the break

The increasingly questionable Massimiliano Allegri brought on Filip Kostic and Manuel Locatelli in search of a reaction and it came in the first 20 minutes after the restart. Juve trapped a Maccabi in their area who began to feel the massive effort of the first half.

Cohen, with another great save, again prevented a 2-1 draw by heading into the center of Daniele Rugani’s team from a corner (53′). Juve are more recognizable, although their drive has gradually diminished due to their lack of ideas to create danger.

Possible punishment but Turinese impotence

Antonio Mateu Lahoz missed a penalty when Cuadrado went down in the area before Cornud arrived (67′) and, although Juve tried to score until the end for pride, Cohen was supremely confident throughout under the sticks.

Historic win for Maccabi

Maccabi was superior to Juventus in everything and wrote a historic page by beating an Italian team in European competitions for the first time and achieving their first Champions League victory in 20 years, in 2002 .