Juventus’ fall in the 16th round of the UEFA
Champions League continues to occupy Italian
newspapers, which described the performance of
the local league champion’s lackluster against
Olympique Lyon on Wednesday.
The “old lady” team suffered a surprise defeat with
a clean goal in Lyon, after a poor return from its
players, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, to strengthen
the French team’s chances of reaching the quarter-
finals for the first time in 10 years.
In light of the Italian press searching for the secret
of the sudden fall of Juventus, the widespread
newspaper “La Stampa” said that the reason lies in
the dressing room, with a case of “indifference”
suffered by the team players before and during the
meeting.
And revealed “La Stampa” that Ronaldo failed to
ship the players in the dressing room, despite his
instructions to them before the match, and after its
first run in which the stars of the team moved
away from their usual level and Minya with the
sole goal of the match.
Luca Tosar scored Lyon’s goal with a long-range
shot in the 31st minute, after kickoff from the
brilliant Hossam Awar.
But in between the two halves of the match,
Ronaldo’s words to his teammates were “without
any benefit” according to the description of the
famous newspaper, which said that “the player
himself did not abide by the instructions he gave to
the team members.”
Although the draw drew Juventus in front of a
relatively easy opponent in the round of 16, the
European champions twice became threatened to
leave the Champions League at a very early stage,
before the second leg on March 17.
