Aston Villa 0-0 Juventus: Heartbreak for hosts as Morgan Rogers’ late goal is ruled out by VAR as winless run continues
If the fears around a revamped and remodelled Champions League were that some of these extra group matches would lose their bite, then this was an evening to confirm a few suspicions.
And what a shame that is. There is no end of beauty to evoke when you think of the grand Old Lady of European football under the grand old lights of Villa Park, but she shuffled around with little purpose and those beams were the only source of brightness.
The rest was forgettable, a dull shade of grey, with the exception of two fleeting moments.
The second of those came three minutes into stoppage time and was of greater consequence, for Morgan Rogers thought he had bundled the winner, only for it be disallowed somewhat harshly for a challenge by Diego Carlos on the Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio as they tussled under a high ball.
As with so many of the decisions made by the referee, Jesus Gil Manzano, it felt an overly officious ruling on a routine clash of shoulders, and yet to say either of these sides deserved more than a point would be a risky manoeuvre.
The only other glimmer of excitement, of quality even, came half an hour prior to that flashpoint, when Francisco Conceicao headed at a half empty goal from four yards and Emiliano Martinez flew across his line and somehow kept the ball from fully crossing the line.
Aston Villa were held to a 0-0 draw by Juventus after Morgan Rogers’ late strike was chalked off
The new England international thought he had struck the winner deep into time added on
Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio was judged to have been fouled just before the goal
At a push, he had two inches to spare before the goal-line technology would have buzzed, so it was a corker of a save. Before the match, the Argentine had paraded the trophy he was recently awarded for being the world’s best goalkeeper – delivering a stop like that on a freezing night of little activity was a fine way to validate the judges.
In the bigger picture, the draw keeps Villa in decent health in the Champions League, but failed to arrest a run of winless matches that has now stretched to seven. With Chelsea next up on their domestic agenda, there is a pressing need for Unai Emery to break the inertia that has taken hold of his side.
Their presence in these European nights will compensate for what ground they have lost in the Premier League, but they are curiously lacking in confidence compared to what we saw last season. Once upon a time, they would have played with more zip, more aggression, but here they seemed more afraid to lose, which made this a missed opportunity against a young Juventus side that is not quite the vision of its famous name.
To understand where Juventus currently find themselves on the development curve, consider their team sheet – there were no recognised strikers in Thiago Motta’s starting XI, no one above the age of 27 and only six men on the bench, two of whom were goalkeepers. Injuries have hit hard and often in a season where they sit sixth in Serie A.
Granted, it is still Juventus but not as we know them, and certainly not the vintage of 1983, when they were last at Villa Park with half a dozen members of Italy’s World Cup-winning side and Michel Platini.
From the Villa perspective, Emery made three changes to the bunch that drew 2-2 against Crystal Palace on Saturday. Most notable among those coming in was Boubacar Kamara, who was deemed sufficiently fit for his first start in three weeks but has rarely looked as effective as he did alongside Douglas Luiz.
The latter’s move to Juventus has seemingly benefitted no party beyond Villa’s bean counters, with Luiz injured and Kamara not kindling quite the same synergy with those filling the space. Here, that meant a stationing alongside Youri Tielemans, but, in the first half at the very least, they struggled get a grip on the centre of the pitch.
As such, Juventus were able to dominate much of the possession, but with the exception of Francisco Conceicao they lacked the dynamism to capitalise. He was lively; they were blunt.
Unai Emery needs to break the inertia that has taken hold of his side at this stage of the season
Emiliano Martinez appeared to mock his opposite number after the match ended in a 0-0 draw
Of the chances that were created, Villa had the best of them. In one early move, Pau Torres glanced a Leon Bailey corner onto the roof of the net and in the final moments Lucas Digne dipped a free-kick onto the bar. Barring one other drive from Ollie Watkins that was saved by Michele Di Gregorio, there was almost nothing in between. For all the glory of the setting and occasion, this was shaping into a mediocre contest characterised by three Villa bookings, a fiddly referee, and not a single Juve opening of note.
That will have partially satisfied Emery – he has highlighted lately the need to tighten up at the back and to those purposes, the first half was a success.
The second started with a fraction of anxiety and, again, it was caused by Conceicao, one of three sons of famous fathers in this team. As it happens, his old man, Sergio, won the Cup Winners’ Cup at this ground with Lazio in 1999, and here the lad’s threat was shown with a quick step around Digne and a drive that clattered off the elbow of Torres. The appeal for a penalty went nowhere.
Another of the sons, Khephren Thuram, was less impressive with a chance on the hour, when he had a decent sight at goal from the edge of the area and leathered his shot so far wide elements of the crowd began to laugh. It was that kind of night, or it was until Emiliano Martinez injected some quality.
That came after 64 minutes, when Conceicao reacted fast to a bouncing ball off a set-piece at the far post and headed for the bottom corner. Martinez dived low to his right and clawed it off his line with a quite brilliant save, the importance of which was underlined by replays showing the ball was no more than an inch or two from fully crossing. It was a brilliant intervention from a man who had so little to do.
At the other end, John McGinn had a flicked shot scrambled clear by Manuel Locatelli before Rogers brought a moment of excitement at the death that felt out of keeping with the game and was duly ruled out.
