Bordeaux 2-0 Juventus: Surgical Frenchmen Give Bayern Hope In Group A

In tonight's pivotal Group A clash that could have spelled a Champions League exit for Bayern Munich, Bordeaux welcomed Italian powerhouse Juventus to the beautiful ground that is the Stade Chaban Delmas for what would turn out to be an absolute gem of an encounter.

The French side were surgical in putting their mark on the game, pushing extremely hard from the off and making the experienced Italians work for their wages. Bordeaux dominated the centre of midfield very quickly through Alou Diarra and Fernando Menegazzo, both players anchoring their side to perfection. On the flanks, the hosts were showing their visitors the ropes as well, most notably through the very impressive Mathieu Chalme who had been deployed at right-back.

Juve were eventually allowed a breather as the hosts conceded a free kick in their own half around the 15 minute mark. Diego stepped over the set-piece, directing it towards the head of Giorgio Chiellini. The defender rose well, but his headed attempt bounced off the ground and over the bar.

It then seemed like Chiellini's chance would be Juve's only one of the half, as the home side swiftly got back on top of the match. As the Bianconeri continued to rely on their physical strength, a super-fit Bordeaux side ran riot, forcing their opponents into quick decisions, both when in possession and whilst chasing it, resulting in wayward passing and a few yellow cards for the visiting Italians.

Struggling to dictate the pace of the game at all, Juve finally got another break when Camoranesi found the ball down the right, cutting it back for Del Piero. The skipper teed up Diego on the edge of the box, but his shot lacked venom, and Cedric Carrasso easily saved the attempt.

The speedy build-ups produced by the hosts continued until the half-time whistle was blown, but the most notable attempt came when Chamle popped up yet again to pick out Marouane Chamakh with a beautiful lofted pass that beat the entire Juventus back-line. The striker should have scored, but Gigi Buffon stayed on his feet just long enough to avoid being rounded, keeping the scores level at half-time.


Ciro Ferrara's half-time chat with his underachieving side clearly sank in, even if it was only for 10 minutes or so. Juve expertly whizzed the ball around the park for a small time, during which Amauri was narrowly caught offside in what could have easily resulted in a goal. However, Bordeaux quickly took the reins again, which became all too clear as Camoranesi's very evident frustration earned him a yellow card.

The home side's dominance eventually paid off when Martin Caceres pulled down Chamakh, whose pace was causing the Italians some real cause for concern. Czech international Jaroslav Plasil bent in the free-kick for Fernando Menegazzo to rise the highest out of the pack and guide the ball past Buffon and into the net. Bordeaux had broken the deadlock.

Easily Juventus' best chance of the match came when Del Piero pushed into the box and sent a cheeky ball through to the back post. The ball zipped across the goal-line towards the path of Diego and Amauri but, quite inexplicably, both players failed to tap the ball into the net and the chance went down as a double-sitter.

Clearly unhappy with the performances of his forwards, and probably having just heard that Bayern Munich had gone a goal up against Maccabi Haifa, Ferrara opted to hook Amauri and Del Piero, replacing them with the seldom preferred Ciro Immobile and Sebastian Giovinco.

There was simply no respite for the Italians as the game entered the dying stages. Bordeaux continued to push hard, never sitting back and defending, always looking to extend their lead. Diego tried his luck from 30 yards out when Giovinco earned a free kick from a late Diarra tackle. The ambitious attempt sailed over the bar though, and Juve went on the back foot again.

Buffon was harangued well into injury time, the hosts shooting from everywhere in an attempt to truly kill the game off. In the last minute of injury time, the French hosts got their second. Marouane Chamakh, who had been amazing all game, finally got the goal he deserved for his efforts. As the home side went 2-0 up through Chamakh's headed effort, Juventus' minds instantly turned to early December, when they must see off Bayern Munich if they are to progress to the knock-out stages.

Stephen Crawford, Goal.com