On Wednesday, Juventus played out the final chapter of what must be the club’s most disappointing Champions League campaign in its glorious history.
The Bianconeri succumbed to their fifth defeat in six group stage outings, as Paris Saint-Germain emerged victorious at the Allianz Stadium, doubling the same result from their previous encounter in the French capital.
However, Max Allegri’s men were consoled by two factors: an encouraging display and a third-place finish that heads them towards the knockout stages of the Europa League.
Here are our takeaways from the Old Lady’s final Champions League game of the season.
invaluable lesson
While the end result could definitely have been better, the game against Lionel Messi and company served as an invaluable lesson for Juve’s young contingent.
For example, Federico Gatti had not yet played in a higher division before the end of last season, but on Wednesday he went toe-to-toe with some of the biggest stars in the world, including GOAT himself.
The Italian defender is bound to find himself on the wrong end of some online taunt as he desperately tried to hold on to Kylian Mbappe’s jersey before the opener.
However, his overall performance was decent enough and he will only benefit from this experience, and the same goes for Fabio Miretti, Nicolò Fagioli and the rest.
Relentless Square
This season, we may have been a little harsh on Juan Cuadrado. Now surely his performances have plummeted compared to previous seasons, but let’s not forget how the current injury crisis has forced Allegri to rely on his services non-stop.
At the age of 34, La Vespa is no longer a spring chicken and deserves respect for putting in extra shifts in a physically demanding role.
Against PSG, the Colombian prevailed in his personal duel against Juan Bernat. But when Christophe Galtier introduced the terrifying Nuno Mendes midway through the second half, Cuadrado was always destined to lose a sprint against a fresh youngster 14 years his junior.
Therefore, it would be unfair to blame the veteran winger for PSG’s triumph.
champion heart
When a footballer suffers a devastating ACL injury, the first question that arises is whether he can ever be the same again. Some believe that the most difficult aspect of recovery is mental rather than physical.
So when Federico Chiesa made his long-awaited return to the roar of joy from the crowd, all eyes were on the hero of Euro 2020.
Fortunately, the Italian entered the pitch with a broad smile on his face and seemed fired up at the moment, although he fell short of leading his team to a draw.
Now maybe it showed some expected rust, but Chiesa surely threw nervousness out the window.
The winger will be eagerly trying to regain his peak physical and technical condition and pick up where he left off on that unfortunate evening at the Stadio Olimpico.
