Gatti strikes at the death as Juventus draw with Sevilla

Semi-final 1st leg

Juventus 1-1 Sevilla

Sevilla looked to be leaving the Allianz Stadium in Turin with a win over Juventus in the first leg of their semi final with the Italian giants, but a late equaliser means all is to play for in next week’s second leg.

The visitors started brightly, with no intention to just sit back and absorb pressure. Lucas Ocampos had the first chance for Sevilla on 14 minutes as he leapt to win a header at the far post which was saved by Wojciech Szczesny.

Juventus responded with a big chance. Kostic slid a fine cross for Vlahovic who looked set to score but Bono did just enough to put him off as the Serbian striker blazed over the bar from close range.

On 25 minutes the opener arrived for Sevilla. A swift counter attack thanks to a quick Oliver Torres pass out to Ocampos in space. The Argentine cut the ball back to the waiting En-Nesyri who calmly guided the ball home with his weaker right foot.

Sevilla continued to dominate the half and could’ve added another had they been more precise – long range efforts from Ivan Rakitic and En-Nesyri so nearly doubled their advantage.

Juventus were lacklustre in the opening half, but they did show a response in the second half. Samuel Iling-Junior, on as a substitute, found an opening with some good work down the left but opted to pass to Vlahovic, unsuccessfully, rather than shoot.

The Englishman then forced Bono into a good save on 63 minutes with a fierce left foot shot.

The revival didn’t last too long, as Juventus slumped back into their passive mode, with Sevilla only too happy to slow down the game.

Late on, Rabiot connected badly with a volley from a Cuadrado cross and, while the Frenchman called for a penalty, the referee was not having any of it.

But just as the game looked to be over, and with the six minutes of added time already elapsed, Gatti was on hand to head home from close range after Pogba’s flick on to break Sevilla hearts.

It’s a good result on paper for Sevilla, but the lateness of the goal conceded will hand the psychological advantage to the Italians.