Juventus boss admits he feared one Aston Villa star, labels £30m man a big threat
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Juventus boss Thiago Motta refused to confirm that he would have been happy with a draw ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Aston Villa.
But, as referee Gil Manzano controversially denied Morgan Rogers a winner with pretty much the last kick of the game in Birmingham, the look of relief on the Bianconeri coach’s face told a very different story.
Because, while Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez would pull off an ‘incredible’ save to deny Francisco Conceicao at the other end, the way the final half hour or so panned out at Villa Park ensured the eventual 0-0 stalemate certainly flattered Juventus more than their frustrated hosts.
Lucas Digne hit the bar with a glorious free-kick. John McGinn saw a shot blocked on the line by Manuel Locatelli.
And then came the Rogers rigmarole, goalkeeper Michele di Gregorio getting lucky as he missed a high ball under pressure from Diego Carlos.
But while Juventus were far from their best in an attacking sense – this was their fifth 0-0 draw under Motta and their second in a row after the weekend’s clash with AC Milan – the former Bologna coach was happy to see his tactical set-up deny Villa dangerman Ollie Watkins the space he tends to thrive in.
Juventus boss Thiago Motta happy to keep Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins quiet
Motta highlighted Aston Villa’s counter-attacking threat during his pre-match press conference. His Juve players clearly got the message, too, Watkins managing only two shots and 22 touches before his 77th minute removal.
“A safe point. [It was a game] more or less with a team like Milan, with different players but at the same time the same idea,” Motta told reporters at full-time. “A team that as we saw, when we were open, starts very quickly on the counter-attack.
“[A team] that looks for its striker Watkins in the most difficult positions for our defenders.”
On a quiet night for Aston Villa’s star striker, Leon Bailey did show some signs of rediscovering the confidence of last term. Up against Andrea Cambiaso – Aston Villa cooled their interest in Juventus’ £30m man recently – Bailey’s dynamic dribbling looked like Emery’s best route to goal at times.
It was his cross which came oh-so close to assisting McGinn’s late winner, if not for Locatelli’s goal-line heroics.
“Bailey tried to test his pace [against] Andrea,” Motta adds. “[Fortunately] we conceded little. It is clear that we also created little, because we played with great balance so as not to give what Aston Villa were looking for.
“We then had the opportunity with Francisco, very clear, which did not end well with a goal. All in all, we had another good performance, where we will take a point and continue to fight for qualification.”
Unai Emery delighted as Emiliano Martinez heroics earn Aston Villa a point
Aston Villa remain two points above Juventus in the new-look Champions League first-round phase. Emery’s team are on the coattails of the top eight. Juve are under pressure to get some wins on the board and fast, however, as they slip to 19th.
"It was fantastic," Emery smiles, Villa conceding only once in their five European fixtures thus far. "We needed one match like this, playing seriously with a clean sheet, defending strong, being compact and then trying to impose and dominate some areas of the match.
"We didn't create a lot of chances but we didn't concede a lot of chances. We were closer to scoring and in the second-half we were progressively getting better. We needed one save from Emiliano, a fantastic save.
"We have ten points in the Champions League and we were enjoying it in Villa Park. We played a very serious match, a very competitive match against Juventus, respecting them.”
