Rome-Bayern Munich 1-7. This would be enough to explain the nightmarish night spent at the Olimpico, a match that left the yellow and red environment in shock, stunned by an unstoppable Bayern Munich. After the first goal scored by Robben in the 9th minute, four more arrived within 27 minutes: Goetze in the 23rd minute, Lewandowski in the 25th minute, Robben again in the 30th minute and Muller from a penalty in the 36th minute. At 0-5 at half-time, the greatest risk was that of worsening the proportions of the Giallorossi collapse even further. In the second half, Roma (with Totti out at half-time) found the goal through Gervinho, before the other two Bavarian goals through Ribery and Shaquiri.
For Roma it is the second 7-1 defeat in the Champions League, after the similar humiliation suffered on 10 April 2007 by Manchester United: “Ours – explained the coach Garcia – was not a mental collapse but tactical. We also gave up in terms of aggression, we let them play and they are very strong. I was the first to make a mistake, we had the wrong strategy in the first half, because we had to be more closed and start over. The only positive news of the evening – continued the Frenchman – is CSKA's draw which allows us to be second in the group and hope to go through, but not playing like that. Luckily we showed pride in the second half and without their goalkeeper we could have scored more. Unfortunately when you play against Bayern it's easy to lose, because they always win. The only risk is getting slapped and we took them tonight. We were spectators of the match."
To underline, despite the final result, the applause of the Olimpico at the end of the match.
Juventus, fresh from the defeat in Madrid, wants to go back to scoring the three points to resume the race and not risk compromising their group. Not an easy feat, especially playing at Olympiacos, who on their own turf on matchday one beat European runners-up Atletico Madrid 3-2: “We will find a very warm environment that will support their team from start to finish – Buffon said in the conference -, trying to put us in difficulty and instilling fear in us. In the end, however, the protagonists are those who go on the pitch and Olympiacos beyond the fans and the stadium is a team with excellent individuals and a good team game, a team that deserves the utmost respect”.
In Greece they still remember a famous 7-0 for Juventus then coached by Marcello Lippi (it was 10 December 2003, Trezeguet, Miccoli, Maresca, Di Vaio, Del Piero and Zalayeta scored twice), but those were different times. Now Juventus is no longer a battleship of Europe, but they really want to go back to being one: "Many years have passed since that 7-0 - Buffon recalled -, this Juve is different from the one it was back then, but it's a team that has enormous potential, some still unexpressed. I am sure that soon they will also be seen in Europe. If we aspire to finish among the top eight in Europe we have to demonstrate it in an important way”.
Massimiliano Allegri is also well aware of this, and since his first day on the Juventus bench he has put the passage of the Champions League round as his first objective: "They have quality players – said the Juventus coach -, we will have to play with intensity to try to limit them. It will be an important match but not decisive. We need to score as many points as possible in these two matches."
As far as training is concerned, Allegri has given Lichsteiner, Ogbonna, Chiellini, Bonucci, Tevez, Buffon and Vidal as sure starters. All the others are in doubt, with Pirlo, Marchisio and Pogba fighting for two shirts, and Morata in a run-off with compatriot Llorente as partner of the untouchable Tevez. The last victory in an away Champions League match dates back to February 12, 2013, when Conte's black and whites broke Glasgow by winning 3-0 against Celtic. It's time to tweak the stats.
