Italian giant, Juventus, coach Maurizio Sarri believes the Old Lady were “cursed” in the Champions League match against French side, Olympic Lyon. after their exit at the hands of Lyon on Friday.
The clash saw Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo break the club record for most goals in a single season on Friday with his double against Lyon in the Champions League. However, Juventus crashed out of the Champions League after defeating Lyon 2-1 on the night and falling on away goals in a 2-2 aggregate result.
Coach Sarri cut a frustrated figure after a series of officiating decisions went against his team.
“We are out of a competition where we won six out of eight games we played, we drew one and lost one. That means that in eight matches we got 19 points,” he told a news conference.
“If there were a Champions League table we would be first or second. Instead, we are out. That’s why I feel incredibly sad. It makes me understand that in this competition Juventus are cursed.
“If I weren’t so bitter, I would get out of this match with a smile on my face, because I saw the lads in good shape again, they gave all they had, they fought until the end, they put their heart and soul into the match. I appreciated it.”
Memphis Depay converted in style from the spot to open the scoring on Friday after Rodrigo Bentancur gave away a contentious spot-kick.
Sarri felt the spot-kick given to Lyon was “crazy” as he rued the first-leg away loss.
“We played a good match. In a match where we had to come from behind, we found ourselves one goal down because of a crazy penalty, because in my opinion it shouldn’t even have arrived to the box because I think there was a clear enough foul on [Gonzalo] Higuain. And the penalty itself I think it is debatable,” he said.
“The referee was clearly unfit for a situation like this, because for us to concede that goal was like to concede two goals. We were good because we stayed into the game and turned the match around, but we spent a lot of energy.
“We had two or three chances to score towards the end with headers from Cristiano Ronaldo, Higuain and I think [Leonardo] Bonucci, so I think we were close to the qualification.
“If we have to have a regret it has to be for our performance in the first half at Lyon. At these levels, it is something you pay for.”
Quillcastleng had earlier reported that Bayern Munich captain Thomas Muller has urged red-hot sensational striker, Lewandowski, to outclass Barcelona talisman, Lionel Messi, in the game’s greatest attackers next week.
[…] had earlier reported that Italian giant, Juventus, coach Maurizio Sarri believes the Old Lady were “cursed” in the Champions League match against French side, Olympic Lyon. after their exit at the hands […]