Juventus Women produced another battling performance to frighten Group C leaders Arsenal. After an even first half Lineth Beerensteyn opened the scoring for the Bianconere only for her Netherlands international teammate Vivianne Miedema to equalise for the London side.
The Matchday 3 fixture saw out the first half of the group stages with Juve in second place and on the back of this performance a quarter final berth is still very much up for grabs.
THE MATCH
With a 100% record to extend Arsenal immediately set out their intentions to take the match to Juventus. However, despite seeing plenty of the ball in the opening minutes, the visitors were kept at bay, with Martina Rosucci performing well in her new central defensive role.
Juventus absorbed the early pressure and when they ventured into the Arsenal half on eight minutes, Lisa Boattin’s cross almost made contact with Barbara Bonansea, who had ghosted in behind the last defender. Boattin then had a free-kick that was comfortably saved by Manuela Zinsberger in the Arsenal goal.
At the other end, either side of the half hour mark, Pauline Peyraud-Magnin was called into action to spectacularly cut out a flighted cross before the first real chance of the contest when Stina Blacktenius beat the offside trap. Racing in on goal the striker hit her shot off the top of the crossbar.
In between, Cristiana Girelli had two attempts from the edge of the area, both blocked by stalwart defending from the Gunners.
Blackstenius was again put clean through before the break, but Peyraud-Magnin was imperious in denying the Swiss forward the game’s opening goal. The opening goal which almost arrived with the final touch of the first half, when Arianna Caruso reached a cross. Her header flashed just wide of Zinsberger’s post.
The threat to the Arsenal goal continued after the break, and led to the breakthrough for the Bianconere, but only after Lisa Boattin had performed heroics heading off her own line.
Juve broke up the field. Girelli was decisive in the centre of the park, not only winning possession but playing through a defence-splitting pass for Lineth Beerensteyn to chase down. The flying winger latch onto the pass and kept her cool in front of goal to slide the ball into the far corner.
With so many quality players in their ranks, Arsenal fought back into the contest and found the equaliser from a corner kick. Vivianne Miedema met the cross with a header - this time Boattin on the goalline could do nothing about it.
With both sides having found a way to break down their opponents, more chances arrived. First for Julia Grosso when she forced her way into the Arsenal penalty area only to fire her shot over the bar. At the other end, Miedema had a run and shot, which like Grosso’s, finished off target.
Then just as the teams appeared to have given their all, one last chance fell to the visitors. Caitlin Foord broke in behind the home defence. One on one against Peyraud-Magnin it was the Juve goalkeeper that emerged on top with another crucial block.
The final whistle arrived with nothing to split the teams. At the midway point the group is finely balanced.
POST MATCH COMMENTS
JOE MONTEMURRO
"In the first half they had a couple of important chances, while it took us a little more time, but then we improved. In the second half we controlled the ball well. A draw is a fair result. On the one hand, these are matches that leave a bit of a disappointment, because we are aware that we can hold our own against all the big teams, raising the level. Now we have tricky away matches, we must always believe in our goals, play our game and think about how to move on. We are competing with the best in Europe, it's a step forward. Rosucci in defence? You can't sit there waiting for Arsenal. Martina has the quality to put herself forward, so I thought it would be a good idea and she put in a great performance, like all defenders."
MARTINA ROSUCCI
"It went well in defence. The coach decided to put me there, it's important for me to honor this shirt in any position, I'm happy, because it wasn't easy against such a strong team. In the first half we studied them, then we had more courage, we took control, but unfortunately we conceded at our best moment. I'm disappointed even though we played on a par with one of the strongest teams in Europe. We believe even more in the future, now we'll start thinking about the away match."
ARIANNA CARUSO
"Certainly there is a sense of regret because we could have collected all the three points but we are satisfied with the performance, more experience that we will need for the next matches. Now let's think about the championship and prepare match after match. I'm quite satisfied with how I'm playing but I'm convinced I can do more. I will continue to work hoping to prove my worth."
CECILIA SALVAI
"There is more regret than satisfaction, or at least the feelings balance out, because we take the field to win and we conceded a goal when we were pushing ourselves the most. It's always a pity to concede at a set piece, even if it must be said that they have had other chances, so probably a draw was the right result. However it is a step forward for us because Arsenal despite the absences have very important players. But we must try to always control the game so we must improve our continuity by making fewer mistakes, which at times did not allow us to make the most of our chances. With Rosucci in defence I feel good. I tried to give her everything possible, during the week we tried to find the balance but she has plenty of experience. I had no doubts and she did a great job."
JUVENTUS 1-1 ARSENAL (HT: 0-0)
SCORERS: 51′ Beerensteyn (J), 61′ Miedema (A).
JUVENTUS: Peyraud-Magnin; Lenzini, Rosucci, Salvai, Boattin; Caruso (82′ Bonfantini), Pedersen, Grosso; Bonansea (82′ Cantore), Girelli, Beerensteyn (90+5′ Duljan). Subs not used: Aprile, Forcinella, Gama, Cernoia, Lundorf, Zamanian, Arcangeli, Schatzer, Sembrant. Coach: Montemurro.
ARSENAL: Zinsberger; Wienroither (79′ Maritz), Wubben-Moy, Catley, McCabe; Maanum, Walti; Nobbs (65′ Beattie), Miedema, Foord; Miedema. Subs not used: Marckese, Williams, Iwabuchi, Agyemang, Reid. Coach: Eidevall.
Referee: Demetrescu.
BOOKINGS: 48′ Pedersen (J), 63′ Blackstenius (A), 84′ Beerensteyn (J), 90’ Wälti (A).