Had this Group G match been a boxing match it would be have been halted midway through, as mighty Manchester City turned in a five-star performance to soar past Juventus 5-2.
The magic of Orlando was limited to the Premier League champions and Juve second-half substitute Kenan Yildiz, who exquisitely set up center forward Dusan Vlahovic’s late goal.
Jeremy Doku broke the deadlock on nine minutes, a rare error from shotstopper Ederson gifted Teun Koopmeiners’ equalizer two minutes later.
Midway through the first half a bizarre own goal gifted by Pierre Kalulu put City in charge. After the turnaround Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both swiftly found the back of the net after coming off the bench.
Savinho’s sensational strike made it five for the City slickers, with Vlahovic grabbing a late consolation for a more respectable result for the Bianconeri.
Juve boss Igor Tudor admitted: “We had to be perfect and we were not. Losing is a bad feeling, and losing like that is never good.
“We didn't manage to recover the ball where we wanted to. When we had possession we didn't handle it well, because they pressed us with intensity and timing.”
Fringe players got a shot
Despite the high stakes up for grabs inside the Camping World Stadium, both head coaches opted to rest key players ahead of Tuesday’s last 16 knockout.
Not only was the opportunity to score a hefty chunk of prize money for the winners, but victory could mean potentially swerving Real Madrid in the next round although the Spanish side’s fate has yet to be decided.
Tudor, who had selected the same starters for the previous two group games against minnows Al-Ain FC and Wydad AC, mixed things up to tackle City.
Vlahovic replaced Paris Saint-Germain loanee Kolo Muani as the lone target main, with wingers Francisco Conceicao and Yildiz benched to give Koopermeiners and Nicolas Gonzalez a shot at impressing the boss.
While Andrea Cambiaso and Khephen Thuram, both one yellow card away from suspension, were dropped to offer Manuel Locatelli and Filip Kostic a run out.
Tudor's defensive tactics fail
Juve’s defensive frailties went unpunished in their previous group games, but Tudor’s troops were constantly exposed throughout this clash.
City continued their impressive record of scoring early goals, with Doku latching onto Rayan Ait-Nouri's cleverly disguised through ball and slotting into the bottom right corner past Michele Di Gregorio.
Vlahovic fluffed his chance to equalize almost immediately, but Koopmeiners made no mistake after quickly picking up a careless loose ball from keeper Ederson to square matters.
An erratic piece of defending at the other end of the pitch resulted in defender Kalulu strangely side-footing a low cross from Matheus Nunes past Di Gregorio to hand City a deserved lead.
Di Gregorio to the rescue
City target Di Gregorio showed his worth after being bombarded before half-time, but he was equal to efforts from Aït-Nouri, Omar Marmoush and Savinho.
Goal machine Haaland replaced Marmoush at half-time, and made the scoresheet on 52 minutes for his 300th goal in a City shirt.
Five minutes later Tudor made a triple substitution in a bid to get back into the contest with Cambiaso, Thuram and Yildiz thrown into the cauldron. Within 60 seconds of their introduction Cambiaso set up Yildiz, who screwed his ambitious long-range effort wide of the target.
Despite Juve’s changes, City continued to boss the match and frustrate the Turin titans with their dominating possession and long ball tactics.
It was City substitute Foden who swiftly made an impact, sweeping home Savinho’s pass with his left foot on 69 minutes. Savinho added to their tally after Haaland’s shot was saved, finding the top right corner with a scorcher from outside the box on 75 minutes.
Vlahovic teed up
Yildiz skied his effort outside the box from a neat Vlahovic pass. Moments later the pair worked well together, with the Turkish talent setting up Vlahovic to beat Ederson and nestle the ball into the bottom left corner with six minutes remaining.
Di Gregorio saved the blushes to deny Rayan Cherki in stoppage time, but Juventus were outplayed and outwitted to finish group runner-up.
Tudor’s team will face the Group H winners next. Real Madrid will top their group if they defeat RB Salzburg, who along with Al-Hilal remain in contention for qualifying for the last 16.
Tudor added: “This match does not take alter out path, football is like that. Now we rest, recover and focus on preparing for the next game.”
JUVENTUS: Di Gregorio - Kelly, Savona, (Gatti, 60), Kalulu - Kostic, McKennie (Adzic, 84), Locatelli (Thuram, 57), Costa (Cambiaso, 57) - Koopmeiners (Yildiz, 57), Gonzalez - Vlahoivc. Subs: Bremer, Muani, Daffara, Rugani, Luiz, Pinsoglio, Conceicao, Garofani, Milik, Rouhi