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Maccabi Haifa 0-1 Juventus: Camoranesi Strike Seals Lackluster Victory
The Old Lady recorded a vital win in the Ramat Gan despite a poor showing in the second half, while the hosts are out of the competition.
Nov 3, 2009 4:45:12 PM
Maccabi Haifa remain without a point or a goal in the Champions League group stage after going down 1-0 against Juventus. Mauro Camoranesi's deflected shot in first half injury time proved to be the difference between the sides, but the visitors rode their luck in the second half.
Shlomi Arbeitman started up front alongside Vladimir Dvalishvili, as the hosts looked to score their first goal in Group A. Tiago returned for Ciro Ferrara's side, while Martin Caceres started at right-back in place of Zdenek Grygera. Despite scoring against Napoli, David Trezeguet was on the bench as Amauri began up front.
Nir Davidovitch was forced into the first save of the evening as Diego got away from two players, but his shot was too close to the Israeli 'keeper to really trouble him. Moments later he did well to close the angles as Amauri broke the offside trap, and he must have sensed that he was in for a busy evening.
Gustavo Boccoli then brought down Diego on the edge of the box, but Davidovitch did well to palm the Brazilian's free kick round his right hand post.
Juventus were dominating the play as the hosts struggled to get out of their own half, partly down to the sterling work of Christian Poulsen and Felipe Melo as they won the ball back frequently and dictated the play.
After surviving the Bianconeri onslaught in the first 20 minutes, Maccabi began to have some possession in the visitors' half. The team were looking to Yaniv Katan to provide a creative spark, but there was a reluctance to commit too many men forward.
Maccabi earned their first corner in the 28th minute and very nearly scored their first goal. The ball bounced free just six yards from goal after some weak defending from Giorgio Chiellini, but Gianluigi Buffon threw himself at the ball and cleared it from the danger area.
Dvalishvili flashed a shot wide of goal soon after, but Diego was always a threat for the visitors as he set up another chance for Amauri, but his drive was well saved by Davidovitch. John Culma then reacted hysterically to a fair challenge from Melo, which earned both players a yellow card.
As half-time approached, Juventus took the lead. Diego's wonderful crossfield ball was collected by Martin Caceres, who then flashed a low pass into the box for Mauro Camoranesi to turn the ball home via a deflection. Only seconds remained until the referee blew for half-time, and the goal will have been a huge relief for Ferrara as his side had dominated the first half.
Camoranesi's strike separated the sides
Mohammad Ghadir was brought on for Culma at half-time as the hosts came out with a more attacking setup, and was almost immediately involved but Katan's cross was slightly over-hit.
Amauri thought he had doubled the lead in the 54th minute, but was correctly flagged offside after he had touched the ball past Davidovitch off Diego's free kick.
Substitute Lior Refaelov nearly got in behind the Juventus backline, but Nicola Legrottaglie showed good strength in the challenge to deny the Maccabi man. Tiago was substituted for Paolo De Ceglie shortly thereafter to provide some more balance on the left wing, but the Israelis were looking bright in the second half.
Juventus were showing patience on the ball, building their moves carefully but were perhaps a little too tentative as they waited for Diego to produce a moment of magic. It nearly cost them in the 68th minute when Ghadir connected onto Gustavo Boccoli's through ball, but he was correctly adjudged to have been offside.
With just over 10 minutes remaining, the Bianconeri were beginning to look a little shaky at the back. Neither Chiellini nor Legrottaglie had really been pressed, but Arbaitman was putting himself about while the Israelis missed the target with a number of efforts.
Ferrara looked to slow the game down by taking off Amauri for Trezeguet, but the coach stood on the touchline looking distinctly unimpressed with the Bianconeri's second half performance.
The game became very stilted in the final moments as the Italians successfully held onto their one goal advantage. The win keeps them in second place in Group A, and they now hold a four-point gap over third-place Bayern Munich after the Germans lost to Bordeaux.
Anthony Wright, Goal.com
Amauri thought he had doubled the lead in the 54th minute, but was correctly flagged offside after he had touched the ball past Davidovitch off Diego's free kick.
Substitute Lior Refaelov nearly got in behind the Juventus backline, but Nicola Legrottaglie showed good strength in the challenge to deny the Maccabi man. Tiago was substituted for Paolo De Ceglie shortly thereafter to provide some more balance on the left wing, but the Israelis were looking bright in the second half.
Juventus were showing patience on the ball, building their moves carefully but were perhaps a little too tentative as they waited for Diego to produce a moment of magic. It nearly cost them in the 68th minute when Ghadir connected onto Gustavo Boccoli's through ball, but he was correctly adjudged to have been offside.
With just over 10 minutes remaining, the Bianconeri were beginning to look a little shaky at the back. Neither Chiellini nor Legrottaglie had really been pressed, but Arbaitman was putting himself about while the Israelis missed the target with a number of efforts.
Ferrara looked to slow the game down by taking off Amauri for Trezeguet, but the coach stood on the touchline looking distinctly unimpressed with the Bianconeri's second half performance.
The game became very stilted in the final moments as the Italians successfully held onto their one goal advantage. The win keeps them in second place in Group A, and they now hold a four-point gap over third-place Bayern Munich after the Germans lost to Bordeaux.
Anthony Wright, Goal.com
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