Aston Villa denied late winner in Champions League match against Juventus
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Juventus' Michele Di Gregorio reacts on the ground after Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers scores a goal in the final seconds of the match that was later disallowed.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Aston Villa manager Unai Emery was happy with a point despite his team being controversially denied a last-gasp winner in a 0-0 Champions League home draw with Juventus on Nov 27.
Chances were at a premium at Villa Park but the home side had Argentina international goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to thank for keeping the scores level with a wonder save.
Then, deep into stoppage time, Morgan Rogers looked to have given Emery’s team another famous win when he slammed a loose ball home. But the goal was ruled out after it was deemed that Diego Carlos had fouled Juventus goalkeeper Michele di Gregorio.
Emery described the contact as “soft”.
“The last action is clear, it is the interpretation of the referee... We know here in England, 80 per cent is not fault (foul) and maybe in Europe it is a fault,” the Spaniard told TNT Sports.
“But I am very happy because we won a point. We played a very competitive match. We were dominating the match to try to get three points. We played a serious match.
“We played trying to avoid the mistakes we made from the last matches. We were playing better and I think we more or less deserved to win the match.”
Villa raced out of the blocks in Europe this season, winning their first three matches, but they have now gone seven games in all competitions without a victory.
Emery made it clear before the match that a draw would not be a bad result against the Italian giants, as he plots progress from the revamped group stage.
Juventus, playing without a recognised striker, enjoyed the bulk of possession in the early stages but showed little punch. The game opened up as the first half progressed.
The first shot on target for either side came when Ollie Watkins controlled a clever Boubacar Kamara pass in the 37th minute but di Gregorio pushed the ball behind.
Villa came closest to breaking the deadlock in first-half stoppage time when Lucas Digne rattled the crossbar.
Both teams showed more urgency early in the second half as the game picked up pace, with the home crowd trying to lift Villa.
Aston Villa’s Argentinian goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez making a save.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Two-time champions Juventus had a glorious chance to take the lead in the 65th minute, when the ball fell to Francisco Conceicao at the back post from a corner.
He got his effort on target but somehow Martinez made up ground to his right, diving low to keep the ball out, millimetres short of it crossing the line.
The home side then thought they had won the match in the final seconds but it was not to be.
Villa, playing their first season in Europe’s top-tier competition since the 1982-83 season, are ninth in the Champions League table, with Thiago Motta’s Juventus down in 19th spot.
“Another good performance, a point, and we will continue to look for qualification. We will go out on the pitch always with our ideas and trying to win,” said Motta. AFP
