Juventus suffered another disappointing defeat as they were beaten 2-0 in Israel by Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The goals both came in the first half from Omer Atzili and they leave Massimiliano Allegri in a perilous position heading into Saturday’s Derby della Mole.
The game got off to the worst possible start for Juventus as they fell behind after just seven minutes. A great cross came in from the Maccabi Haifa left and Atzili was able to rise highest and head the ball into the back of the net.
Much to the concern of the watching Juventus fans, there was little to no response from the Bianconeri and shortly before half time, the situation got desperate.
It was Atzili once again who found the back of the net. Maccabi Haifa were able to stream forward into acres of space and then Atzili was picked out in acres of space on the right. He had the time to cut inside, set himself, and then hit a superb shot into the near top corner and make it 2-0.
The second half had the frantic feel of a team that knew their Champions League campaign was disappearing, and another team who couldn’t believe the position that they were in.
Juventus on the brink
There was a distinct lack of clear-cut chances created by Juventus and they seemed utterly devoid of any plan to get back into the game. There was little feeling that the final result would be anything other than 2-0.
This defeat leaves Juventus on three points from four Champions League matches and the two teams ahead of them, Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain, have seven points heading into their clash on Tuesday evening.
That means that qualification is not out of the question for Massimiliano Allegri’s side yet, but they will be hard-pressed to not drop into the Europa League. The games against Maccabi Haifa were supposed to be the guaranteed six points but that has not proceed to be the case.
