UEFA Europa League – Match Review: Red Bull Salzburg 1-1 versus Juventus Torino
Juventus played out an eventful group stages match against the Austrian side, Red Bull Salzburg, as the Italian giants, who are also known more affectionately by their fans as Juve or the old lady as well started with Alexander
Manninger in goal. Manninger was complemented by a four-man defensive line which consisted of Zdenek Grygera at right back for the Italian giants whilst Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini played as Juventus’ two centre-backs. Paolo De Ceglie played as
Juve’s left back on the night in their group stage matchup whereas Jorge Andres Martinez played on the right side of their four-man midfield.
Martinez was partnered in midfield by the central midfield duo of Mohammed Lamine Sissoko and Claudio Marchisio. Simone Pepe took up his usual spot for Juventus on the left hand side of attack but the Italian national was supported
in attack by Juventus’ two strikers, Amauri and Alessandro Del Piero. Juventus played most of the match with their 4-4-2 formation and aimed to control the match whenever possible by maintaining a heavy monopoly on ball distribution throughout the encounter.
On the other hand, Red Bull Salzburg lined up with a more pragmatic 4-5-1 formation in which they deployed Gerhard Tremmel in goal. In defence for the Austrian club football giants, Martin Hinteregger played at the right back position
whilst Rabiu Afolabi and Ibrahim Sekagya took up their usual roles in central defence.
The right side of defence was marshalled by the experienced Christian Schwegler, whereas the right midfield spot was taken up by Franz Schiemer. The creative responsibilities of the team were piled up on two central midfielders
on the night that were David Mendes Da Silva and Nikola Pokrivac. Dusan Svento played a much more withdrawn role of a defensive midfielder but Gonzalo Zarate played as the Austrian team’s left-sided winger. Roman Wallner played as Salzburg’s sole striker against
Juventus. The match kicked off with an intensity that was expected from the word go as Salzburg controlled the game early on.
The Austrian club side was in superiority for the most part of the first half as they played with a pace and tempo that really unsettled the former Italian champions. Juventus found it hard in the first period of the match to compete
with the Austrians and that showcased soon enough as Salzburg were the first team to break the deadlock after their midfielder, Dusan Svento found himself at the end of a brilliant passing move down the centre of Juventus’ defence. This move was capped off
by Dusan’s fine finish in the 36th minute of the match as the midfielder’s goal gave his team the lead. Salzburg went into the second half of the match with a narrow lead but Juventus soon came back into the match.
During the half time break, Juventus introduced changes as they introduced Milos Krasic down the right-hand-side of their attack by substituting their right back, Grygera. This offensive substitution worked like a charm for the
Italian outfit, who scored in the 48th minute with no one other than their substitute, Milos Krasic. Krasic’s remarkable solo effort was a sight to savour as it gave Gerhard Tremmel no chance of pulling off a save. Juventus’ equalizer gave them
enough confidence to ensure that they battled out the rest of the match but it wasn’t enough to spur them onto greater things as the match eventually ended one all in the end.
There were a total number of three bookings in the match, two of which went to Salzburg players, Gonzalo Zarate and Andres Martinez. One of the yellow cards went to Felipe Melo, the Brazilian midfielder who was substituted late
inside the second half of the match in place of Andres Martinez himself. It wasn’t a vintage performance by Juve, who are still finding their feet in the new club football season under their new manager, Luigi Del Neri. However, a point at the Red Bull Arena
in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria pushed them closer to qualification for the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League in a group which contains the likes of Manchester City, Lech Poznan and Salzburg.
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