Friendly | Atletico Madrid-Juventus Match Report

There are bad losses and good losses. On one hand there was the 3-0 defeat, fruit of sub-par athletic conditioning in Nuremberg. On the other, we have the match against Atletico in Gothenburg, with the Bianconeri always in the match against the Spaniards.

That is the context of Madrid’s 2-0 victory, with one goal at the start of the second half and another on a penalty kick at the end of the match.

FIRST HALF

It was a real challenge at Ullevi. In the seventh minute, Di Gregorio stepped up to close the door on Llorente, who broke in on an opener from Koke. Only one minute later, the Bianconeri responded, with Vlahovic picking up a delightful pass from Douglas Luiz, only to be denied by the Spanish defence. Sixty seconds later, Juve again pressed in from the Cambiaso-Weah axis, with Locatelli cut off in the middle at the last minute.

In minute 12, Thuram tried to attack from far out after taking over a stray ball, but could not find the goal. In minute 17, Griezmann took a quality shot from the right, which bounced off the post.

The match was beautiful and lively. In the 19th minute, Lino took a shot on a low cross from the right and narrowly missed the goal. Towards the half-hour mark, Juve attempted to strike back two times, with Vlahovic leading the drive.

First, in the 26th minute, Dusan nearly put back a strike from Gatti, and in minute 28, his shot with the right foot was a bit too tight on a fine feed from Thuram. Atleti responded again with a shot from Sorloth in the 37th minute, with Di Gregorio making a nice save to stop his header.

The Bianconeri then had a clear chance in the 38th minute, again from Vlahovic: Weah created panic on his wing and sent the ball to the middle, where Vlahovic could not not find the goal, despite being in an excellent position.

It was the last gasp of a good first half for the Bianconeri.

THE SECOND HALF

The second half opened with a strong press from the Colchoneros. Joao Felix as able to put one through after two minutes, when he took advantage of a nice screen by Correa after a pass in from the right.

Juve reacted in the third minute, as Weah put pressure on the Atletico defence, only to be stopped at the last second by Witsel. Six minutes later, he created another opportunity by opening an action for Thuram, who fed the ball to Vlahovic, who was blocked by Mondragon before he could finish. In between those plays, Atletico pressed again, with Di Gregorio blocking shots in the fourth and fifth minutes from Lino and Serrano.

In the middle of the second half, Juve pressed again twice, led by Yildiz. In the 12th minute, Kenan tried to strike, but was walled off by Azpilicueta. At the half-hour mark, his attempt was foiled again by the Madrid keeper.

There was therefore plenty of good play from Juve in the second half, but Atletico found the goal again at the end of the game, with Giuliano Simeone taking a penalty for a foul on Cabal. Correa converted the shot, although Di Gregorio was almost on track to block it.

Thus ends Juve's pre-season. In eight days, serious business begins with the opening of Serie A.