Motta praises Juve spirit after thrilling fightback at Leipzig

By Sports Desk October 02, 2024

Thiago Motta hailed Juventus' team spirit after they shrugged off two injuries and Michele Di Gregorio's red card to secure a thrilling 3-2 Champions League win over RB Leipzig.

Juventus, who are yet to concede a goal in Serie A this season, twice had to fight back from a goal down before securing the win with a late goal from Francisco Conceicao.

They endured a nightmare start as captain Bremer and winger Nicolas Gonzalez were both withdrawn after suffering injuries. 

They then went down to 10 men when Di Gregorio was dismissed for handling outside his area, but Dusan Vlahovic's brace had them level before Conceicao showed great feet to tuck home an 82nd-minute winner. 

"It was a good match, even in the first half where we made some mistakes in the details," said Motta. 

"In the second half, we did better, even playing with 10 men. It was a great performance and a great win.

"Courage from the boys, they were determined to push forward and hurt the opponents.

"Even with a man down, we had that feeling, so why step back? We kept pushing, and we did it well right until the last minute."

Two-goal hero Vlahovic echoed those sentiments, saying: "I'm really happy, especially for the team. We are becoming a real unit.

"We fought together, kept pressing even when we were down to 10 men, and in the end, we deserved to win. It was a great match, and fortunately, we came out on top."

 

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  • O'Neil hoping for Wolves lift-off at Brentford O'Neil hoping for Wolves lift-off at Brentford

    Gary O'Neil believes one victory is all it will take to provide lift-off for Wolves' season, as the Premier League's bottom side prepare to visit Brentford on Saturday.

    Wolves have taken just one point from their first six matches of the season, having last failed to win any of their first seven games of a top-flight campaign when they finished bottom in 2003-04.

    They fell to a 2-1 defeat to leaders Liverpool at Molineux last week and have also faced Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Aston Villa in a daunting start to 2024-25.

    O'Neil believes their performances have warranted better results and insists his team retain the backing of supporters, saying: "The lads always show that they're not a group that can't bounce back. 

    "When we lost to Arsenal, we went full throttle against Chelsea. Then we went full throttle against Newcastle and we suffered a late defeat. We go to Aston Villa, and we go again.

    "We're ready to go again and that will always be the case. Everyone in this football club is doing absolutely everything they can, myself included. I'm really disappointed for the lads because they deserve something to show for their efforts at this moment.

    "We just need to find a way to get that first win on the board, then we'll be able to push off."

    Brentford, meanwhile, sit 12th in the table with seven points, after drawing 1-1 with West Ham last time out. 

    Goalkeeper Mark Flekken has made a solid start to 2024-25 after initially struggling to adapt to the Premier League when first joining the Bees last year.

    Speaking to the club's official website about his upturn, the former Freiburg man said it was his goal to become a player coach Thomas Frank could always depend on.

    "I want to put in the same performances that I did during the second half of last season, but over the full year," Flekken said.

    "I'm not the person that seeks out to be decisive in a game; if the boys keep everything away from me, that's better. I want to save those one, two, three shots on target where the team needs me. That is my goal, to be that person they can rely on."

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Brentford – Bryan Mbeumo 

    Mbeumo's goal against West Ham last time out was his 48th Premier League goal involvement (27 goals, 21 assists), the outright most of any Brentford player. 

    The Cameroonian is looking to score in three consecutive league games for the first time since December 2019 (a run of four in the Championship).

    Wolves – Matheus Cunha

    So much of Wolves' attacking play goes through Cunha, and the Brazilian will have a pivotal role to play if they are to get up and running here. 

    He has had more shots (16), created more chances (nine), had more touches in the opposition box (25) and played more passes into the box (30) than any other Wolves player in the Premier League this season.

    MATCH PREDICTION – BRENTFORD WIN

    Brentford won 2-0 at Wolves in February, with the Bees last winning consecutive league games against them in the 2015-16 Championship campaign.

    But Wolves have a strong record in West London, going unbeaten through their last five away league games against Brentford (three wins, two draws), winning two of their three visits in the Premier League including a 4-1 triumph last December.

    O'Neil's men have also won three of their last four Premier League away games against London sides, as many as they had in their previous 21 such visits (four draws, 14 losses), though they did lose on their only visit to the capital so far this season (0-2 at Arsenal).

    Wolves have, however, conceded 16 goals from just 9.8 expected goals against (xGA) in the Premier League this season, the worst such difference so far this term (-6.2). Brentford will hope their porous showings continue on Saturday.

    The Bees should be wary if they do hit the front though, having dropped a league-high 38 Premier League points from winning positions since the start of last season, including eight already in 2024-25.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Brentford – 47.4%

    Wolves – 27.9%

    Draw – 24.8%

  • 'It's a great night for everyone' - Genesio revels as Lille shock Madrid 'It's a great night for everyone' - Genesio revels as Lille shock Madrid

    Bruno Genesio revelled in "a great night for everyone", as "incredible" Lille stunned Champions League holders Real Madrid 1-0 at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

    Jonathan David's first-half penalty - after Eduardo Camavinga handled from Edon Zhegrova's free-kick - ended Madrid's 14-match unbeaten streak in this competition, while condemning them to a first reverse overall in 36 games.

    Genesio also had Lucas Chevalier to thank after the Lille goalkeeper made a string of superb saves to keep Carlo Ancelotti's side at bay, including a wonderful instinctive stop to thwart Antonio Rudiger right at the death.

    Indeed, Madrid simply had no answer to their stubborn hosts, despite the introduction of a fit-again Kylian Mbappe during the second half.

    And Genesio saluted his players for their efforts in delivering a memorable result.

    "What this team did is incredible," he said. "We try to put things in place, but you need the players to believe in the plan for this kind of upset to happen.

    "You have to do everything perfectly, you need a keeper who makes the decisive saves, a striker who scores, and a bit of luck.

    "We played a very good first half, we played together. It's a great night for everyone.

    "We saw that Real like to cut inside, so we put intensity in that sector - even if we had to abandon possession sometimes.

    "Then, it was all about pressing when it mattered. Everything worked perfectly, it was an ideal scenario - even if we suffered a lot in the last 25 to 30 minutes, but Lucas made the saves we needed."

  • Dinamo Zagreb 2-2 Monaco: Zakaria snatches point at drenched Stadion Maksimir Dinamo Zagreb 2-2 Monaco: Zakaria snatches point at drenched Stadion Maksimir

    Monaco came from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw at Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League at a rain-sodden Stadion Maksimir, with Denis Zakaria equalising with an 89th-minute penalty.

    Petar Sucic put Dinamo ahead in first-half stoppage time with a delightful chipped finish, later doubling their lead in 66th minute when Martin Baturina rifled home from outside the area.

    Having been crushed 9-2 at Bayern Munich in their opening game, it looked like the Croatian side would bounce back in style, with Monaco struggling to get going on a sodden pitch.

    However, Mohammed Salisu headed in from a corner with 16 minutes left to provoke a Monaco onslaught, and Maxime Bernauer fouled Folarin Balogun to concede an 89th-minute spot-kick.

    Zakaria converted to put Monaco on four points after they beat Barcelona in their first match, with Dinamo defender Nenad Bjelica subsequently sent off when he picked up a second booking for dissent.

    Data Debrief: Monaco show fighting spirit

    Monaco looked set for a demoralising defeat in Croatia when they went 2-0 down, struggling to get their slick passing style to work on a pitch that was close to waterlogged.

    However, they showed great resilience to fight back in the latter stages, avoiding defeat from two or more goals down in a Champions League match for the first time since May 2004, when they earned a 2-2 draw versus Chelsea en route to making the final.

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