Celtic's Cinderella run hit a major obstacle on Tuesday as the team fell 3-0 to Italian leader Juventus.
Juventus opened the scoring just three minutes into the game when a cross into the box sent Alessandro Matri in alone against Celtic keeper Fraser Forster. Matri shot the ball through his legs and it rolled toward the line. A defender kicked the shot out, but another Juventus player deposited the ball into the net.
The linesman later stated that Matri's initially shot had crossed the line and he was therefore credited with the goal.
Celtics' Chris Commons had a prime opportunity to tie up the score when he did an overhead kick of a cross toward the goal; the shot went just wide of the net. The Scottish side dominated the first half with 57 percent of the possession and five scoring chances to Juventus' two.
The gap widened in the second half when Claudio Marchisio ran onto a pass from Matri and fired it past Forster. After the goal, the Celtic crowd remained quiet and the team produced few chances. Mirko Vikunic added the third just five minutes later at the 88th minute to put the game out of reach for Celtic.
"For 65 minutes, Celtic played with great intensity but we showed great maturity," noted Juventus manager Antonio Conte. "We played very well. In the second half we were much better and won the match convincingly. We had to absorb a lot of pressure."
"It's the harsh reality of football at this level," said Celtic manager Neil Lennon after the match. "When you make defensive mistakes you get punished."
Juventus has now won four straight in the Champions league; the team has not conceded a goal in that span. The second leg will take place on March 6 at Juventus. Celtic must score at least three away goals and win by three or more goals in order to move on to the quarterfinals. Juventus must not allow more than two goals and can afford a tie to advance.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
