At the end of a back-and-forth doubleheader, Juventus have been ousted from the Europa League semi-final following a 1-2 (2-3 on aggregate) defeat at Sevilla after extra time.
This was the Old Lady’s last chance to grab silverware in what has been a chaotic campaign on all levels, but it will be another trophyless season for the club.
Max Allegri opted for a 3-5-1-1 formation spearheaded by Moise Kean, with Angel Di Maria operating in the hole. Nicolò Fagioli joined Manuel Locatelli and Adrien Rabiot in the middle of the park.
Juan Cuadrado started on the right flank while Samuel Iling-Junior was the surprising inclusion on the opposite side. Federico Gatti, Gleison Bremer and Danilo formed the backline in front of Wojciech Szczesny.
While the first half ended goalless, it proved to be a thrilling 45+ minutes of football. The Spaniards saw more of the ball, but both sides had their chances.
Szczesny pulled off a series of incredible saves to deny Sevilla, but his Juventus teammates could have done better in front of goal. Di Maria wasted a golden on-one-one against Yassine Bounou with a wayward finish, while Moise Kean was unlucky to hit the post.
Moreover, Fagioli’s night ended prematurely due to a harsh foul from Nemanja Gudelj, while Juan Cuadrado was fortunate to escape VAR’s wrath following a late challenge on Bryan Gil.
In the second half, Dusan Vlahovic immediately scored following his introduction, beating Bounou with a cheeky chip.
Nonetheless, the Old Lady’s celebrations were short-lived, as Sevilla made the most of a blunder from Federico Chiesa. Suso dribbled past a couple of Juventus players to create just enough space for himself before unleashing a rocket that beat the majestic Szczesny.
While the Bianconeri barely survived to reach extra-time, Erik Lamela’s header put the Spaniards in the lead. Despite Marcus Acuna’s red card, the Italians couldn’t forge an equalizer.
Hence, Juventus can only rue some of their missed chances on their long trip back to Turin.