Monaco 0-0 Juventus (agg 0-1)

When The Old Lady of Turin takes her place alongside Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid on Friday, it will appear that Massimiliano Allegri has returned this great club to the elite level.

In reality it will be a clash of cultures as Juventus, who have kept nine clean sheets in their last ten fixtures, plot their path to the Champions League final in Berlin.

It will be painful and far from pretty if Juve, who held on to the lead Arturo Vidal gave them from the penalty spot in the first leg against Monaco, progress to the final on June 6.  

At the final whistle Giorgio Chiellini raced across the athletics track at Stade Louis II to throw his number three shirt into the hordes of Juve supporters celebrating their first appearance in a semi-final since 2003. The feeling is that Juve’s race is run.

On the surface Allegri’s team are looking good, 15 points clear of second placed Lazio in Serie A and heading for a semi-final against a genuine European force in a couple of weeks’ time.

The reality is that this team is relying on some classic Italian traits, with some stubborn defending and the dogged work of Carlos Tevez, Juve’s only out ball, for some hustling up front.

It works, painfully so at times, and they are certainly a long way short of the last Juventus team to reach the Champions League final at Old Trafford in 12 year ago.

Back then Marcello Lippi’s team had some real class, with the names of Edgar Davids, David Trezeguet, Alessio Tacchinardi and Alessandro del Piero taking Milan to a penalty shoot-out in Manchester.

Today’s team relies on the presence of their veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, a survivor from that defeated 2003 team, to provide some reassurance.

Before this tie against Monaco, the Italian World Cup winning goalkeeper spoke about the honour and prestige for Juventus if they could reach the semi-final. The second leg was all about survival.

At times this was about the darker side of the game, with Chiellini shown an early yellow card when he scandalously scooped the ball away with his hand to prevent Joao Moutinho racing clear.

All three at the back - Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli - lived dangerously, a mistake waiting to happen on a tense and anxious night.

Monaco were brisk and innovative, using the first half energy of their central midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia to provide the momentum for Leonardo Jardim’a side. Kondogbia deserved so much more from this tie. 

He had a decent shout for a penalty in the first half when he was sandwiched between Chiellini and Vidal, sent off balance when the pair squashed him as he made his way into the area.

Kondogbia was awesome here and anyone who can outshine Pirlo, save for the odd killer pass for Tevez or Alvaro Morata, in the centre of midfield must be doing something right. 

Tevez and Morata, who was eventually replaced in the 69th minute by Fernando Llorente, should be credited for their tireless performance in this second leg because they had both picked up a virus the night before the game. Both are believed to have been sick on the pitch.

It was Tevez who had Juve’s best chance here, an effort that skidding wide of Monaco keeper Danijel Subasic’s left hand post on the stroke of half-time. Monaco sent for Dimitar Berbatov at the break, sending on the Bulgarian striker to replace the withdrawn figure of France midfielder Jeremy Toulalan. He had a poor game here. 

(dailymail.co.uk)