One goal conceded, two shots on target and 10 superb saves was all that defensive-minded Juve came away with from their last 16 showdown against Real Madrid on Tuesday evening.
Igor Tudor’s troops were the underdogs, and in the second-half that’s exactly what they looked like after being completely overwhelmed.
On paper a 1-0 defeat in the Club World Cup doesn’t appear too bad for Juventus followers. Yet the result was flattering, and meant back-to-back reversals for Juve manager Tudor.
It was billed as a battle of the titans, with superstars in the making in the form of Juve’s Kenan Yildiz and Real’s Gonzalo Garcia.
The Miami mismatch saw Garcia grab the glory with what proved to be the decisive goal. His 54th-minute header, wonderfully converting Trent Alexander-Arnold pinpoint cross, was enough for Xabi Alonso's outfit to beat Juventus and send the Serie A side packing.
Defensive woes
Recently appointed head coach Alonso reverted to the same 5-3-2 formation that proved so successful to roar past RB Saltzburg in their last outing. Yet Real, like Juve have been all tournament, appeared defensively fragile during the first half.
Kolo Muani fluffed his chance to break the deadlock in the eighth minute after being picked out by Yildiz, following a swift counterattack. With only keeper Thibaut Courtois to beat from 18 yards, the loanee striker looped the ball over the crossbar with his effort landing on the roof of the netting.
Real immediately went on the attack, only for Federico Valverde to shoot wide and then at the other end Yildiz unleashed a powerful long-range drive that was deflected.
Midway through the opening half Courtois made his first of two saves, easily denying a weak header from Francisco Conceicao. Real’s immediate response ended up earning their first corner after Aurelien Tchouameni’s thumping 25-yarder was deflected wide.
Off the line
On the half-hour mark Jude Bellingham’s close-range effort was saved by Di Gregorio’s foot, with defender Daniele Rugani scrambling to make a goal-line clearance.
That was as close as it got to a first-half goal, although it took a fully stretched one-handed save to parry a thunderous 30-yard strike from Real skipper Valverde during stoppage time.
With the teams clearly sizing each other before the interval, and the match at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens failing to live up to the high expectations, something special was required to lift the tie in the Florida heat.
Overworked Di Gregorio superbly denied Bellingham and former Juventus defender Dean Huijsen early in the second half. But he could not prevent Garcia powering his header home for his third Club World Cup goal.
Juve almost equalized immediately, only for Conceicao’s ambitious shot to be saved from nestling in the bottom left corner by virtually redundant shotstopper Courtois.
Double trouble
A double Juve substitution on the hour-mark saw Conceicao replaced by the experienced Filip Kostic, just back from his successful season-long loan at Fenerbahce, and Nicolas Gonzalez on for injured Lloyd Kelly.
With Real squandering their chances and Di Gregorio in his element by producing save after save, many in the jam-packed crowd turned their attention to the sight of Kylian Mbappe warming up midway through the second half.
Chants of “Mbappe, Mbappe” rang around the stadium, and the talismanic forward came on for his understudy Garcia with 22 minutes remaining.
The French international had missed the three group games with gastroenteritis, and must have felt sick as a parrot after being thrown into the cauldron only to receive scant service from his team-mates.
Vlahovic overlooked
Tudor surprisingly switched Yildiz, man-marked out of the second half, for Teun Koopmeiners just after Mbappe’s arrival rather than introduce center forward Dusan Vlahovic.
With Garcia and Yildiz departing, it was up to overworked Di Gregorio to keep denying Real from adding to their tally. While at the other end of the pitch the Spanish side defended in numbers to frustrate their below par opponents.
There was some last-gasp drama when Muani ran fearlessly at the defence and into Antonio Rudiger, fell to the floor and laughably appealed for a penalty.
Juventus head home after a disappointing couple of results, while Real will prepare for their quarter-final clash against Borussia Dortmund or Monterrey.
Lucrative tournament
The Club World Cup has been a lucrative outing for Juventus, who have missed out on scooping more prize money with their last 16 exit. The Bianconeri will have banked big bucks thanks to picking up two group stage victories against minnows, and a hefty participation fee.
It’s back to the drawing board, and Turin, for Tudor who has his work cut out rejigging his sorry looking squad.
Tudor claimed at the post-match press conference: “Tonight’s match mattered much more than the one against Manchester City.
“The lads approached it the right way, knowing how to suffer while also creating some decent chances. We gave all we could, and these matches are very useful for us.”
JUVENTUS: Di Gregorio - Kelly (Gonzalez, 60), Rugani (Gatti, 86), Kalulu - Cambiaso, Thurum, Locatelli (McKennie, 86), Costa - Conceicao (Kostic, 60), Yildiz (Koopmeiners, 71) - Muani. Subs: Adzic, Daffara, Garofani, Mbangula, Pinsoglio, Rouhi, Bremer, Luiz, Vlahovic, Weah