Morato scored twice to give Juventus a win over Dynamo Kyiv
Alvaro Morata shone brightly and scored twice for Juventus as they defeated Dynamo Kyiv 2-0, to open their Champions League campaign with a victory on Tuesday night.
Morata scored his first from Dejan Kulusevski’s rebound while his second to seal the victory was a well-taken header.
Juventus were without Cristiano Ronaldo who was absent due to his positive coronavirus test, and Andrea Pirlo’s men actually struggled initially in his absence.
Federico Chiesa and Kulusevski had first-half chances saved by Kyiv’s goalie Georgi Bushchan.
During the course of the match, the Italian champions lost experienced centre back Giorgio Chiellini to injury before the break.
However, we witnessed a much-improved display from Juve in the second half as Spaniard Alvaro Morata showed sharpness and prowess in front of goal as the Italian champions launch their UEFA Champions League campaign.
Watch the match highlights below…
The double scored by Morata makes it three goals in four days for the striker who joined Juventus on loan from Atletico Madrid after he scored in a draw against Crotone at the weekend.
Related: Champions League results: Manchester United vs PSG; Chelsea vs Sevilla Plus other reports
Former Arsenal man Aaron Ramsey also played some impressive football as he was slotted just behind the front two in his 50th Champions League appearance, and it was his back-heel that set up the Kulusevski shot leading to the opener.
Juve has been Italian champions for the last nine seasons but hasn’t won a Champions League title since 1996. They have also been inconsistent in Serie A so far, dropping four points in their four opening games.
However, this win earmarks an encouraging start in the continental competition, which also included the first appearance for Paulo Dybala under the former Italy international, and hopefully Ronaldo would be able to play against Barcelona in the next round of Group G fixtures.
Stats and facts from the match (Backed by Opta)
- Juventus have won their past six Champions League group stage matches, their best such run since a run of six between December 2003-November 2004.
- Juventus have avoided defeat in their opening match in 20 of their previous 21 Champions League campaigns (W12 D8), losing only against Barcelona in 2017-18.
- Dynamo Kyiv have faced Juventus more often without winning in the Champions League than they have any other opponent (five – D1 L4).
- Alvaro Morata scored his first Champions League goals for Juventus since September 2015 vs Sevilla. He has been involved in four goals in his past three Champions League games overall (three goals, one assist), as many as in his previous 21 in the competition.
- Dynamo Kyiv’s Mircea Lucescu became the oldest manager to take charge of a Champions League game in this match, aged 75 years 83 days.
- Juventus’ Aaron Ramsey made his 50th Champions League appearance in this match, the third Welsh player to reach the milestone in the competition (Ryan Giggs 141, Gareth Bale 64).
Messi dazzles as Barcelona thumps Ferencvárosi TC 5-1 at the Camp Nou
Lionel Messi scored in his record 16th Champions League season as Barcelona thumped Ferencvaros 5-1 at the Nou Camp on Tuesday night.
The Argentine Messi scored from the penalty spot to give Barca the lead after he was brought down by a clumsy challenge at the end of a smooth run.
Ansu Fati’s impressive goal scoring form continues as he volleyed in Barca’s second, with Philippe Coutinho adding a third.
Gerard Pique was shown a red card for a foul that set up Ihor Kharatin to narrow the deficit with a penalty, but 17-year-old Pedri netted his first senior goal while Ousmane Dembele rounded off the scoring on his return back to football to ensure Barca’s win.
Watch the match highlights below…
Stats and facts from the match (Backed by Opta)
- Barcelona stretched their unbeaten run at the Nou Camp in the Champions League to 37 games (W33 D4); they haven’t conceded more than once in any of the 37 games in this run.
- Since winning their first Champions League match against Grasshopper Club Zürich in September 1995, Ferencváros are winless in six of the competition (D2 L4), conceding 24 goals in this time.
- Barcelona have won their opening home game in 23 of their 25 Champions League seasons (D2), including each of their last nine in a row since a 2-2 draw with Milan in 2011-12.
- Fati has scored four goals in five appearances in all competitions this season, the most of any player for Barcelona in 2020-21.
- Fati is the first player ever to score more than one Champions League goal before turning 18. Indeed, Barcelona became the first team ever to have two goalscorers aged 17 or under in a single Champions League match (Ansu Fati and Pedri).
- Gerard Pique received his second red card in 117 Champions League appearances, and his first since October 2017 against Olympiakos.
- Three of Ferencvaros’ 10 Champions League goals have been penalties (30%) – the highest proportion of any club with 10 or more goals in the competition’s history.
Other Tuesday Champions League results
- Dynamo Kiev 0-2 Juventus
- Zenit St. Petersburg 1-2 Club Brugge
- Barcelona 5-1 Ferencvaros
- Chelsea 0-0 Sevilla
- Lazio 3-1 Borussia Dortmund
- Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 Manchester United
- RB Leipzig 2-0 Istanbul Buyuksehir
- Rennes 1-1 Krasnodar
14 thoughts on “Champions League results: Juventus, Barcelona win Plus other results”