Matchday four of the UEFA Youth League between Lille and Juventus Under-20s took place at the Domaine de Luchin pitch and ended as a goalless draw. The young Bianconeri thus climb to seven points in the overall standings thanks to two wins, a draw and a loss.
THE MATCH REPORT
The young Bianconeri controlled the match from the outset as they looked to take an early lead. The first chance of the match came via Javier Gil Puche's header from a corner on the ninth minute, but the defender was unable to test the opposing goalkeeper. The biggest chance of the first half came on the half hour mark as Alessio Vacca beat a couple of defenders and drove into the penalty area from the left-hand side before seeing his right-footed effort blocked. Radoslaw Zelezny remained unchallenged in the Juve goal apart from making a straightforward save to deny Adame Faiz’s left-footed shot from outside the area after half an hour. Lille were reduced to ten men in the 37th minute as Kemryk Nagera was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Alessandro Ventre that left the Bianconeri wing-back in a heap on the ground. Ventre himself then nearly went onto open the scoring before half time, as he won the ball on the edge of the area before firing off target.
Francesco Magnanelli's side remained dominant in the second half, thanks in part to their numerical superiority, and they soon came close to making it 1-0 when Diego Ripani's left-footed shot from just outside the penalty area flew over the crossbar in the 63rd minute. Lille provided more of a threat in the second half, with Zelezny doing well to save Soriba Diaoune’s left-footed strike. With fifteen minutes left on the clock, two Juve substitutes in Francesco Crapisto and Ivan Lopez launched a counter-attack, as Crapisto played it through to Lopez but the Spaniard’s shot went wide. Lopez thought he had found a winner in the 78th minute as he headed Filippo Pagnucco’s cross goalwards, but Lille goalkeeper Samy Merzouk made an excellent save to push the ball behind for a corner. As the clock ticked over into added time, Pugno struck a left-footed effort on goal, but once again the Lille defence were on hand to block the shot. That would be the last chance of the match, meaning Juve draw their first game of this season’s UEFA Youth League.
FRANCECSO MAGNANELLI
“It was a difficult game against a strong team. I expected a reaction from the boys after Saturday's game and there was one, they approached the match in the best possible way, and I am very happy about that. There is some regret because we played over a half with a numerical advantage, but the boys were still good and remained concentrated because Lille are a very good team on the counter-attack. We had some good chances, whilst we made the wrong decision in the final third on occasion. There are situations to be fixed in training but today we put in a good performance.”
LILLE 0-0 JUVENTUS
UEFA Youth League – Matchday Four
Domaine de Luchin, Tuesday 5 November, 2024 at 16:00 (CEST)
Lille: Merzouk, Bonnechere, Lucea, Mbamba-Muanda, Imbondo, Faiz (80’ Fokam), Boussadia (41’ Goffi), Apkakou, Nagera, Diaoune, Akale (66’ Ayodele).
Unused Substitutes: Hallez, Flament, Sajous, Hadiri, Livemont, Mokhtari.
Coach: Stephane Pichot.
Juventus: Zelezny, Alfonso Montero, Bruno Martinez, Gil Puche, Ventre (84’ Finocchiaro), Florea (70’ Crapisto), Ripani, Boufander, Pagnucco, Pugo, Vacca (69’ Lopez).
Unused Substitutes: Nisci, Biliboc, Scienza, Bassino, Ngana, Radu.
Coach: Francesco Magnanelli.
Referee: Roman Jitari
Assistants: Ghennadi Lista, Igor Reaboculi
Fourth Official: Aurelien Peitit
Bookings: 38’ Gil Puche (J), 83’ Bruno Martinez (J), 90+1’ Merzouk (L), 90+4’ Finocchiaro (J)
Sent Off: 37’ Nagera (L) – Straight Red Card
Next Match:
Juventus U20-Bologna U20
Primavera League 1 – Matchday 11
Saturday, 9 November, 2024 at 11:00 (CEST)
‘Ale & Ricky’ Pitch - Juventus Training Center (Vinovo)