Juventus vs. AS Monaco: 2 Key Battles to Watch
theScore’s Gianluca Nesci examines two key matchups that will play a significant role in determining who emerges victorious from the first leg of the intriguing quarterfinal clash between two of the tournament’s under-the-radar sides, Juventus and Monaco.
Andrea Pirlo vs. Joao Moutinho
Andrea Pirlo is expected to make his long-awaited return from a calf injury that has kept him, and his magnificent facial hair, on the shelf since the opening leg of the tie with Borussia Dortmund.
While the veteran's return will see a slight shuffling of the Juventus midfield - namely Claudio Marchisio moving out of the deep-lying role that he has made his own since Pirlo's injury - one thing will look all too familiar to those watching: The opposition will look to limit his time on the ball.
Pirlo's ability to pick a pass with his eyes closed when given time is no secret, and neither is the fact that he can struggle when put under high, intense pressure by either a striker or an attacking midfielder. With Dimitar Berbatov not exactly known for his work-rate (to put it kindly), that task will likely fall to diminutive Portuguese playmaker Joao Moutinho.
Whichever midfielder can assert himself as the dominant player in this matchup will likely be on the winning side come the final whistle at the Juventus Stadium.
Carlos Tevez vs. Aymen Abdennour
Stopping Pirlo has long been the prime objective of any club looking to topple Juventus in recent years - and with good reason. But if Monaco have any hope of advancing to the semifinal, slowing down Carlos Tevez is of the utmost importance.
The indefatigable Argentine is enjoying a sensational season, scoring 25 goals and adding eight assists in all competitions - with six of those tallies coming in the Champions League, where he had previously endured a nightmarish drought.
"Playing with Tevez in attack, it's like studying at football university for a year," fellow striker Alvaro Morata said earlier this week. "You're learning something every day. The really incredible thing about Tevez is that he doesn't need to run around so much, or play with such determination and effort, and he doesn't even need to defend as much as he does, but he does it all anyway! He's a superstar who plays with the attitude of a debutant."
The task of bottling up the energetic star, at least in part, will be left to Aymen Abdennour. The 25-year-old Tunisian was a colossus in the heart of Monaco's defense against Arsenal, and will need to replicate that performance if the French side is to have any hope of returning to France with a positive result - something they couldn't accomplish seven years ago when these two sides last met in the Champions League
In their only meeting to date - the semifinal of the 1998 Champions League semifinal - it was another Juventus' No. 10 that stole the show. Iconic striker and club hero Alessandro Del Piero netted a hat-trick in a 4-1 opening leg victory, paving the way for his side to advance to the final with a 6-4 aggregate win.
If Tevez can conjure up a performance that even remotely resembles that of the man whose number he now dons on his back, Monaco will be in big, big trouble.