Champions League: Juve leapfrog Chelsea to win Group H

 

Juventus have emerged winner of Group H after defeating Malmo in their Champions League final group game.

The solitary striker that secured the maximum points for the Serie A side was Moise Kean. The striker, who is 21 years and 283 days, becomes the fourth-youngest player to score a Champions League goal for Juventus. He has followed the footpaths of Alessandro Del Piero, Dejan Kulusevski, and Paul Pogba

The former Everton striker headed the winner from a sweet cross from the right-wing by Federico Bernardeschi.

With little attacking threat from Malmo, Juventus were not threatened. The Swedish side finished bottom of the group.

Juve were about to finish second in the group until Chelsea conceded a late goal in their 3-3 draw against Zenit St Petersburg. Chelsea needed a win to win the group.

A win would have put the Blues level on points with Juve and won the group with a better head-to-head record. They beat Juve 4-0 at Stamford Bridge last month.

Magomed Ozdoev’s 94th-minute equalizer handed Juventus the top spot and sparked scenes of celebration at the Allianz Stadium.

The reason for the excitement is clear. The Turin club will avoid Manchester City, Liverpool, Ajax, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and whoever wins Group G in the next round in February.

The draw for the last 16 will hold at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on Monday at 11:00 GMT.

In the match, the host missed chances with Daniele Rugani heading wide. Before he scored the only goal of the game, which is also coincidentally his first Champions League goal, Kean also shot wide.

Adrien Rabiot’s effort also went off target, while Bernardeschi forced a fine save from away goalkeeper Ismael Diawara.

Although they are out of competition, Malmo will be in the first qualifying round of next seasons’ Champions League because they clinched the Swedish league title earlier this week.

 

Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed