Juventus coach Max Allegri says Champions League tie with Villarreal will go down to wire

Italian braced for epic struggle in last-16 second leg against Unai Emery's Spanish overachievers

Juventus forwards Alvaro Morata, second left, and Paulo Dybala share a joke during a training session on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, for their Champions League last-16 second leg against Villarreal. AFP

Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic, left, and Paulo Dybala train for the Villareal game. AFP

Juve's Dusan Vlahovic and Paulo Dybala. Reuters

Matthijs de Ligt trains for Juventus. Reuters

Juventus coach Max Allegri leads training. Reuters

Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini prepares for the Villareal match. Reuters

Dusan Vlahovic and the Juventus squad. Reuters

Juventus' Giorgio Chiellini during training. Reuters

“It may need 120 minutes,” Max Allegri suggested, surveying the taut circumstances of the challenge facing Juventus this evening in Turin.

The head coach of Juve could barely have hoped for a better start to the last-16 meeting with Villarreal three weeks ago, taking the lead in the first leg in Spain after less than 15 seconds.

But he knew he was up against an expert in knockout football. The equaliser for Unai Emery’s team duly arrived, midway through the second half.

Allegri and Unai Emery are old hands at the nip-and-tuck of late-stage European competition, with over 250 matches between them as managers in Uefa competitions. Both are in their current jobs having been repatriated, to restore a certain authority to their clubs.

Emery, a Spaniard and a three-times winner of the Europa League while at Sevilla, was hired by Villarreal after what were often bruising stints at Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal. Back home, he answered expectations perfectly, Villarreal celebrating their first major trophy with victory, on penalties, over Manchester United in the Europa League final at the end of his first season.

Allegri last summer returned to the Juventus he had left as Serie A champions in 2019. He travelled widely, while being extensively courted abroad over the next 18 months. But he was choosy about possible jobs, eventually persuaded to return to Turin.

There he found a greater frailty at Juventus than when he had left them as winners, for the club’s eighth season in succession, of Serie A with a 11-point margin over the 2018-19 runners-up, Napoli.

The following season, under Maurizio Sarri, they retained the title but held off Inter Milan’s title challenge only by a point. Last season, under Andrea Pirlo, Juventus scraped to fourth in the table only on the last match day. Performance levels in Europe diminished too, Sarri and Pirlo overseeing last-16 stage exits, against Lyon and Porto respectively.

Allegri’s standards are higher. Twice during his previous, five-year term as Juventus manager, his Juve reached a Champions League final, silver medallists against Barcelona in 2015, and then second-best to Real Madrid two years later.

Juve would be long-shots to match that, Allegri’s best finish in Europe’s principal competition, this season, but he insisted yesterday: “We should be aiming to win the Champions League.”

And there is an ominous stealth about their recent form. The campaign started with some wobbles, but since November the only defeat in 20 matches has been the 2-1 loss in the one-off Italian Super Cup against Inter.

Villarreal 1 Juventus 1 – player ratings

VILLARREAL RATINGS: Geronimo Rulli – 6. Beaten by a very early shot following a mistake in midfield, otherwise had a quiet night with Juventus failing to trouble him too much. Getty Images

Alfonso Pedraza – 6. Allowed a lot of freedom down the left wing while Juventus sat back. Attempted several crosses, but they didn’t threaten. AP Photo

Raul Albiol – 6. Defended well when Juve attacked. Solid performance with strong, simple passing out from the back. EPA

Pau Torres – 6. Unfortunate to concede so early in the game but did well to nullify Vlahovic and McKennie’s attacking threat. Getty Images

Juan Foyth – 5. Did not play with the same freedom as his fullback counterpart, opting to sit back and defend. Getty Images

Alberto Moreno – 4. Dummied the pass which led to Vlahovic’s 33-second goal, and his wasteful passing caused Villareal issues throughout. Subbed off for Manu Trigueros after 79 minutes. AFP

Dani Parejo – 7. Dispossessed Morata early in the game, which led to a period of Villareal pressure. Found himself in the attacking third often and got a deserved goal from Capoue cross. Reuters

Etienne Capoue – 5. Looked frustrated by Juventus’ defensive shape as he attempted multiple shots from outside the area in the first half. AP Photo

Samuel Chukwueze – 6. Didn’t make his first touch of the game until 15 minutes, but managed to show off his dribbling and crossing abilities. AFP

Giovani Lo Celso – 6. Missed a golden chance to score following a square ball from Pedraza in the penalty area. EPA

Arnaut Danjuma – 4. Kept quiet by the Juventus defence. Had a backheel attempt saved. AFP

SUB: Pervis Estupinan (Pedraza, 79’) – 6. Came on and immediately made a strong on Weston McKennie, who unfortunately had to be subbed off. AFP

SUB: Manu Trigueros (Moreno, 79’) – 5. Bought on to bolster Villareal’s attack but failed to make any impact. AP Photo

SUB: Boulaye Dia (Danjuma, 90’) - N/A. Getty Images

JUVENTUS RATINGS: Wojciech Szczesny – 7. Saved Danjuma’s backheel attempt following a whipped pass from Chukwueze. Conceded to Parejo, who found himself in the Juventus box completely unmarked. AFP

Alex Sandro – 6. Quiet first half but played his part in Juve’s stubborn defence. Subbed off for Leonardo Bonucci at the start of the second half, a statement of Juventus’ intent to not lose their lead. EPA

Matthijs de Ligt – 6. Cleared a rare Villareal cross from within the six-yard box. Integral part in Juventus’ fantastic defensive shape, aside from the one mistake of losing Parejo, allowing him to equalise. Getty Images

Danilo – 7. Filling in at centre-back due to Juventus’ long injury list. Held his position well and prevented Villareal from posing any real danger. AFP

Mattia De Sciglio – 6. Seemed somewhat limited by the defensive outlook and failed to produce any strong crosses from the wing. Linked well with Cuadrado. EPA

Weston McKennie – 8. Cut inside to pass and linked well with his forwards. Subbed off due to an injury, which brought an unfortunate end to a good game for the midfielder. Juventus’ second best attacking threat after Vlahovic. AFP

Adrien Rabiot – 5. Often chose the more simple pass and left the killer ball attempts to Locatelli. Picked up a yellow card for a bad foul on Chukwueze, which could very easily have been a red. Getty Images

Manuel Locatelli – 6. Excellent passing intent showed but not matched by technical skill. Attempted to get the ball forward at almost every opportunity but largely ineffective. Subbed following Villareal’s equaliser. EPA

Juan Cuadrado – 7. Lively down the right wing and switched between carrying the ball further himself or passing to progress. AP Photo

Dusan Vlahovic – 9. Scored within 30 seconds of his Champions League debut with a finish across Rulli with his weak foot. Flashes of flair throughout the game and a first touch unparalleled by anyone else on the pitch. EPA

Alvaro Morata – 5. Lacked finesse in his finishing, hitting one first-half shot over the crossbar and another wide in the second half. EPA

SUB: Leonardo Bonucci (Sandro, 45’) – 6. Cleared up following a sloppy Juventus’ pass which led to a dangerous Villareal move. Failed to continue Juventus’ strong defensive performance from the first half. AP Photo

SUB: Arthur (Locatelli, 71’) – 6. Played a good pass to move Juventus forward, and followed with a foul on Lo Celso during his 20-minute appearance. AFP

SUB: Denis Zakaria (McKennie, 81’) - N/A. Came on to replace the injured McKennie and failed to make an impact in the scrappy final phases of play. AFP

Any aspiration to catch AC Milan at the top of the domestic table is still optimistic, given the seven- point gap, but the genuine fears that Juve might not finish in the top four – they were eighth in November – have receded. They sit five points ahead of fifth-placed Lazio.

“We are breathing a different air,” said Allegri yesterday of the improvement in form, “and we have grown as a unit. That’s the impressive thing about this club. If something’s not right we adapt.”

Quickest to adapt has been Dusan Vlahovic, signed in the January transfer window from Fiorentina, and scorer of the goal, on his Champions League debut, after 32 seconds at Villarreal.

The Serbian has three already in six Serie A matches for his new club. “He will start against Villarreal,” confirmed Allegri, who will chose between Pablo Dybala, available after an injury layoff and Alvaro Morata as Vlahovic’s partner up front.

Giorgio Chiellini, the 37-year-old club captain, is fit after a month out with a calf problem to reinforce the centre of defence, although his long-time partner Leo Bonucci is injured.

Emery hopes his veteran central defender, Raul Albiol, 36, passes a fitness test this morning. “His presence is important for us, particularly in a game in Italy,” said Emery of Albiol, the former Napoli and Real Madrid warrior. “He’s dealt with these sorts of scenarios, risen to these sorts of occasions before and he makes us more sure of ourselves.”

It was an acknowledgement that aura counts for something at this stage in the European Cup. Emery is conscious that, for all that they are holders of the Europa League, Villarreal, the provincial overachievers from a town of less than 50,000 inhabitants, are dwarfed in terms of historic status and silverware by Juve. “We want to be in the Champions League to stay there, not so that it’s a one-off,” he said.

He agreed with Allegri that stamina may be a factor. “We will be competitive and we’ll be prepared for extra-time,” promised Emery.

Dusan Vlahovic scores for Juventus against Villarreal in the Champons League last-16 first leg draw at Estadio de la Ceramica on February 22, 2022. AFP

Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic, left, celebrates with teammate Danillo after scoring in Spain. AP

Villarreal goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli picks the ball out of the net after Dusan Vlahovic's goal. AFP

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri. Reuters

Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny catches the ball. AFP

Dani Parejo celebrates scoring for Villarreal against Juve. Reuters

Juventus forward Alvaro Morata after missing a chance. AFP

Villarreal's Alfonso Pedraza attempts a shot under pressure from Danilo of Juventus. Getty

Juventus defender Mattia De Sciglio. AFP

Villarreal manager Unai Emery. Getty