Manchester City 1-2 Juventus: Five Talking Points
Manchester City have stormed to five victories from as many matches in the Premier League, but for the fifth consecutive season they have failed to win their opening home game of a Champions League campaign. City were leading 1-0 courtesy of an own-goal from Giorgio Chiellini, but Alvaro Morata's late goal after Mario Mandzukic had equalized from a brilliant Paul Pogba cross gave Juventus a deserved 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium.There is still time for City to recover and make it to the knockout stages. But in a difficult group that also features Sevilla and Borussia Monchengladbach, the pressure is already on. The game would certainly be a big boost in morale to Juventus who are enduring a difficult start to the domestic season and also raises serious questions about City’s failure to close the game down and whether they have enough firepower to cover for Sergio Aguero. Here’s a look at five things we learned from the tense encounter at the Etihad Stadium.
#1 Gianluigi Buffon still one of the best goalkeepers in the world
Juventus skipper Buffon once again proved that he is the best goalkeeper of his generation. Picking up where he left off last season with his top-notch performances in the Champions League, the skipper showed his sheer class in restricting City just one goal on the first day of the Champions League season.
In his absence, Juventus would not have won. In fact, they would most likely have lost. His early save from a Raheem Sterling shot was significant because of its timing, while the double save he made with the score at 1-0 in the second half will be the stand-out moment of the day.
He almost single-handedly lifted his team onto a platform from which they could mount an offensive and pull off a recovery. At the end of the day, Juventus won with two superbly taken goals but their goalkeeper was their most important player.
The captain truly led by example.