Juventus 2 Monaco 1 (4-1 agg): Alves leads serene charge into Champions League final + Highlight

Dani Alves orchestrated another brilliant Juventus
performance in this season's Champions League
as a 2-1 win over Monaco on home turf secured a
4-1 aggregate triumph and a place in the final.
Juventus' half-decade dominance of Serie A is yet
to translate into success on the continental stage,
but the Bianconeri have never looked better placed
to win a third European crown than Massimiliano
Allegri's current crop do.
Along with Sami Khedira and Mario Mandzukic,
Alves is one of just three players in this squad to
have won the big trophy and the Brazilian followed
up two assists at Stade Louis II with another star
turn, helping Mandzukic to the nerve-settling
opener before blasting in before the break to allow
45 minutes of joyous celebrating and frantic
seeking of hostelries in Cardiff.
Kylian Mbappe's zip and zeal was rewarded with a
second-half goal that rounds off a stunning debut
season for the 18-year-old.
Though Monaco's brilliant babes will not share a
European crown before they are sold off to the
highest bidder, they are tantalisingly close to the
Ligue 1 crown, and surely the likes of Bernardo
Silva, Thomas Lemar and Mbappe will have greater
tales to tell in this competition over the next
decade.
But those prodigies and their wise old figurehead
Radamel Falcao barely laid a glove on Juve over
two legs and the determined, drilled - and
occasionally dastardly - trio of Andrea Barzagli,
Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini will relish a
showpiece battles of 'BBC' line-ups, with Real
Madrid - of Bale, Benzema and Cristiano - 3-0 up
on neighbours Atletico in the other semi-final.
The Juve defence is still to be breached from open
play in this season's competition and, having
played the underdog to Barcelona two years ago,
Allegri's stronger, slicker side may well head to the
Welsh capital as favourites this time around.
Defiance rumbled down from the stands pre-match
as the home fans bellowed 'CHAMPIONS' amid the
pre-match anthem and a 'Time for Cardiff' banner
greeted the players out of the tunnel and a nervy
opening was ridden out in typically stubborn
fashion.
Gianluigi Buffon stretched out a tweaked back in
the warm-up and flapped at an early cross before
Mbappe beat him to a high ball and struck a post
amid the raising of an offside flag and there were
further signs of danger for Juve when Khedira
twanged a hamstring and had to be replaced by
Claudio Marchisio.
But as the storm passed, Juventus thundered back
into the contest, Kamil Glik and Danijel Subasic
desperately denying Gonzalo Higuain and
Mandzukic before the Croatian striker finally found
a way through.
As in the first leg, Alves found the key to unlock
Monaco, his pin-perfect cross finding Mandzukic,
who lashed high into the net after Subasic
brilliantly denied his initial header.
Juve smelled blood and Higuain was denied a goal
by the assistant's flag before Chiellini celebrated a
geometrically thrilling goalline clearance as if he
had scored - soon the stadium would do so again.
Subasic denied Paulo Dybala one-on-one but was
left flailing when he punched the resulting corner
onto Alves' right boot and the three-time
Champions League winner returned with interest,
smashing a laser-guided volley into the net.
Buffon was beginning to look unbeatable as he
sprawled to deny Mbappe one-on-one but the
teenager would have his goal soon after as he
turned in from inches after Joao Moutinho got to
the byline from a short corner.

Higuain was left enraged after collecting some war
wounds from former Torino defender Glik as the
visitors grew tetchy in the closing stages, but the
Argentine will recover for another assault on a
major final where he will look to improve on a
desperate record with Argentina.
Poorer omens follow in Juve last beating Monaco
at this stage of the Champions League before
losing to Real Madrid in the 1998 final, but
Allegri's vintage are made of the stern stuff
required to turn history on its head.
Key Opta Facts:
- No team have reached the Champions League
final on more occasions than Juventus (6 – level
with AC Milan).
- Juve have scored 30 goals in the Champions
League semi-finals; no team has scored more
(level with Bayern and Real Madrid).
- The Serie A leaders are unbeaten in 12
Champions League/European Cup games for the
first time in their history (W9 D3).
- Kylian Mbappe's goal was Monaco's 150th goal
this season in all competitions; only Real Madrid
(158) and Barcelona (160) have scored more goals
from the big five European leagues.
- Mbappe has become the youngest player to score
in a Champions League semi-final (18 years and
140 days).
- Thierry Henry (5 games) is the only French player
to have reached six Champions League goals
quicker than Mbappe (9 games).
- Dani Alves has been directly involved in seven
goals in the Champions League this season (3
goals, 4 assists); three more than any other

defender in the competition.