ROME - Tuesday’s Champions League action saw three Italian teams face off in the third match week of the tournament. AC Milan played Club Brugge, Juventus against VfB Stuttgart  and Bologna faced English side Aston Villa. However, only AC Milan were able to come out victorious.

 In their match against Club Brugge, AC Milan struggled at the start, only being kept in the game thanks to the valiant efforts of goalkeeper Mike Maignan. However, it was AC Milan who struck first, thanks to a miraculous goal from the corner flag by American Christian Pulisic. 

 Things went from bad to worse for Brugge as they had a player sent off, but did not give up, getting a goal back in the 50th minute. However, the disadvantage of having 10 men proved unsustainable, as AC Milan eased their way to victory thanks to a brace by Tijjani Reijnders. 

 Despite the 1-0 scoreline, Juventus’ loss to VfB Stuttgart was a thrilling game. It started off rather tame, with both sides failing to hit the target from golden opportunities. This was followed by some good saves by both teams’ goalkeepers which kept the teams level. The tie seemed to be broken in the 49th minute thanks to a formidable half-volley strike by VfB Stuttgart centre forward Ermedin Demirovic. However, VAR was swift to disallow the goal for handball. 

 The fast-paced nature of the game continued until the 80th minute when another VAR review had Juventus start Danilo sent off for a foul in the penalty box. However, the drama continued as the penalty was saved leading the deadlock into the final few minutes. Juventus kept a firm defence until VfB Stuttgart  striker El Bilal Touré  was able to blast the ball into the back of the net, winning all three points for the away team. 

 Bologna had a similarly disappointing result against Aston Villa. Much like the Juventus game, both teams struggled to find the back of the net, with a mixture of shots spraying off target and some excellent saves by both sides’ goalkeepers. However, Aston Villa were able to break the deadlock thanks to a cross by captain John McGinn in the 58th minute which went untouched and ended up curling into the back of the net. Jhon Durán then doubled Villa’s lead in the 64th minute, sneaking in front of a defender and poking the ball into the back of the net from a cross.

 AC Milan will be happy to have come out victors in a tight-fought match, but Juventus and Bologna will see match week three as crucial missed points particularly given the new league table format of the Champions League this year. All three sides will hope to put in more clinical performances in their the next rounds of the tournament.

tjpw