At the top level there is a fine line between winning and losing. The best teams don’t make silly defensive mistakes that gift goals to the opposition, while they clinically taken advantage of any mistakes the opposition make.
And that is what happened in Glasgow tonight as Juventus punished Celtic for every mistake they made and ran out winners 3-0. That scoreline means this tie is over. Celtic are not going to Turin and winning 4-0 next month.
Celtic started off the brighter of the two sides with Victor Wanyama stinging the palms of Gianluigi Buffon from long range with barely 60 seconds on the clock. But two minutes later Celtic made their first mistake.
A long ball upfield was totally misplayed by Efe Ambrose, allowing Matri to knock the ball past him and score past the advancing Fraser Forster. It was schoolboy defending.
To their credit Celtic pressed hard for an equaliser, Kris Commons bringing out another save from Buffon and directing an overhead kick just past the post. However, Antonio Conte’s men appeared the more composed side and their constant pressing meant Celtic struggled to find any passing rhythm.
Just after the hour mark, Ambrose had a great chance to redeem his early mistake when a Charlie Mulgrew cross found him unmarked eight yards out, but he could only head weakly straight at Buffon.
At 1-0 Neil Lennon would have thought that his side had a chance in Turin the second leg. But as Celtic kept pushing forward they left themselves open to the counter attack and Juve took advantage twice in the last 15 minutes.
First when Marchisio took a pass from Matri, cut inside and fired past Forster at his near post from 12 yards. Celtic’s resistance was broken and with seven minutes remaining Marchisio set up Vucinic to slot past Forster to almost certainly end the Hoops’ European involvement for the season.
