In anticipation of the match of the third round of the Champions League, Lokomotiv was seen as a clear outsider in the confrontation with Juventus. This was evidenced by many factors, including the star composition of the Turin team, as well as the abundance of personnel problems among the railway workers themselves. Due to various kinds of injuries, the red-greens lost a number of key players, most of them being the backbone of the attacking line.
So, Fyodor Smolov, Luka Georgievich and Jefferson Farfan did not fly to Turin. The situation was complicated by the lack of midfielders of the attacking plan - Anton Miranchuk and Rifat Zhemaletdinov. The first has long been a team leader, and the second is indispensable for sharp counterattacks. There were also losses in the defensive line, in which, due to a groin injury, the left defender Maciej Rybus was not counted.
Thus, Semin needed not only to solve the problem of Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala, but also to reconnect in the line of attack. In the absence of the above-mentioned performers, the only candidate for the forward position was Eder, who had scored seven goals scored over the past two seasons. Moreover, he differed exclusively in duels from the team of middle and lower levels. So, twice he upset Baltika and Yenisei, and once again scored Tambov, Orenburg and Arsenal.
Juventus also approached this meeting in part, but its losses were much more modest. So, Sarri could not count on midfielders Douglas Costa and Aaron Ramsey, as well as goalkeeper Mattia Perin. At the same time, the absence of a defender Giorgio Chiellini dealt the greatest blow to the “old signora”. In late August, he tore the cruciate ligament in training and will return to the field only in 2020.
The beginning reminded the meeting of Lokomotiv with Bayer. Juventus completely owned the initiative, but could not make a full-fledged breakthrough into the penalty area. The wards of Semin acted beyond all praise and restrained the main attacking force of the Turin. Cristiano Ronaldo was forced to descend closer to the center of the field, and often even go to the flank, which clearly reduced his productivity. Nevertheless, it was the Portuguese who was the most active representative of the “Bianconeri” in the first half, having chalked up more than one shot on goal.
During the first ten minutes, the railroad workers did not think about counterattacking, but over time they gained courage. Alexei Miranchuk increasingly began to lead the raids on the gates of Wojciech Schensny, but failed to complete them with a blow for a long time. Together with him, Eder, Grzegosh Krychowiak and João Mariu made the races, while the other six athletes remained almost constantly in their half of the field.
The key moment occurred in the 30th minute. The hosts played a great free kick, but a header by Leonardo Bonucci turned out to be inaccurate. Turintsy were so upset that they allowed their counterparts to carry out a full-fledged counterattack, which ended in a goal. The main character of the episode was Miranchuk. First, he mockingly defeated the same enemy captain and drove to João Mario. And when he didn’t manage to deal with Schensny, he played on finishing.
After a goal conceded, Juventus tried to speed up, but failed to achieve something meaningful. Wards Sarri acted bluntly, relying on casts in the penalty area and long shots. But the former were intercepted by the watchful Benedict Hovedes and Vedran Chorluka, while the latter were either inaccurate or blocked.
At the 41st minute, the ball still ended up in the net of red-green, but the referee Anastasios Sidiropoulos did not point to the center. During the horse fight, Ronaldo broke the rules on Marinato Guillerme, having hit him on the head with his foot. For several minutes, the doctors assisted the goalkeeper, but in the end he was still able to continue the meeting.
In the first half, Juventus delivered 12 shots on goal of Lokomotiv, but the truly dangerous could be counted on the fingers. However, in the second, Turintsy began to act much sharper and more and more often forced to shudder a few fans of railway workers who visited the Alliance stadium. It is worth noting that there were a little more than one and a half thousand.
One of the key episodes of the second half was the appearance on the field of Gonzalo Higuain. After his release, the Turintans switched to a three-attacker scheme, which not only unleashed Ronaldo and Dibale's hands, but also added variability to the team's attack. The "Old Signora" significantly increased the speed of the ball, and the railroad began increasingly not to keep pace with the movements of their opponents. Particularly active was Juan Cuadrado, who was responsible for the right edge.
Nevertheless, for half an hour, the wards of Semin confidently kept the winning score, but then Dybala came to the forefront. Within three minutes, the Argentinean lit his name on the scoreboard twice and brought Juventus a victory. Moreover, both goals were more a demonstration of the skill of the striker, and not the weaknesses of Lokomotiv. First, the tenth number struck filigree from outside the penalty area, and then played on finishing off after a long shot by Alex Sandro.
In the last ten minutes, Lokomotiv tried to attack, but it did not have enough strength for the final assault. Miranchuk and Mariou stood out for their activity, but due to their tiredness, their partners could not provide them with decent support. The most dangerous episode arose in the 89th minute, but Alexey got offside.
Lokomotiv lost to Juventus in Turin and suffered a second defeat in a row at the group stage of the Champions League. Despite this setback, Semin’s wards maintained third place in Quartet D and continue to be the main contenders for entering the playoffs of the Europa League.