Juventus into Europa League quarter-finals
Angel Di Maria, the only scorer in the first leg, started on the bench with Federico Chiesa in the second leg on the evening of March 16. Juventus are also without Leonardo Bonucci, Paul Pogba, Arkadiusz Milik and Alex Sandro, due to injuries. Meanwhile, Freiburg welcomes striker Michael Gregoritsch and Japanese winger Ritsu Doan back.
In a must-win position, Freiburg stepped in strongly. From a counter-attack, Doan nearly scored with a shot wide of the post. Matthias Ginter also threatened the Juventus goal with a header from a corner.
However, Juventus still proved brave. The former Serie A champion started to turn the situation around in the middle of the first half. In the 27th minute, Juventus could have opened the scoring if VAR had not entered. After Bremer's header bounced off the bar, Moise Kean volleyed Dusan Vlahovic into the net of Freiburg. The referee disallowed this goal because Vlahovic was in an offside position.
The turning point in the game came in the 44th minute. Gatti's shot from the middle of the box was touched by Manuel Gulde. This player received a second yellow card, and the referee awarded Juventus a penalty. Vlahovic took a penalty kick to open the scoring for the visitors.
Played with an advantage in the second half, but Juventus reduced the intensity of the game. This prompted Freiburg to rise to find an equalizer, and made coach Max Allegri angry on the touchline. 57 minutes, the home team nearly equalized with a volley from five meters from Gregoritsch. However, the ball hit goalkeeper Szczesny.
The game gradually returned to Juventus after Chiesa replaced Vlahovic from the 70th minute. Chiesa almost scored with a solo finish that caused goalkeeper Flekken to push the ball to the bar. In the 90+5 minute, the Euro 2021 champion sealed a 2-0 victory for Juventus with a low shot from 12 meters, after Rabiot's pass.
Winning 3-0 on aggregate, Juventus entered the quarter-finals of the Europa League for the first time since the 2013-14 season. In the tournament nine years ago, they lost to Benfica on aggregate 1-2 in the semi-finals.
This season, the Europa League is the biggest hope for Juventus to win tickets to the Champions League. In Serie A, due to a 15 point deduction for falsifying financial statements, "Old Lady" is ranked seventh with 38 points, 10 points behind the fourth ranked team Milan.
