Arda strikes late to give Atletico win over Juve

Atletico Madrid reignited their Champions League campaign when Arda Turan struck 15 minutes from time to give last season's beaten finalists a 1-0 win at home to Juventus in Group A on Wednesday.

>>Reuters
Published : 1 Oct 2014, 09:23 PM
Updated : 1 Oct 2014, 09:23 PM

Beaten 3-2 at Olympiakos Piraeus in their opening game two weeks ago, Atletico hassled and harried the Italian champions at the Calderon and were rewarded in the 75th minute when Turkey midfielder Arda poked the ball into the net from close range.

Neither side created many chances in an intense encounter in the Spanish capital and the victory puts Atletico firmly back on track to qualify from a group that also includes Malmo.

The Swedish side won 2-0 at home to Olympiakos to leave all four teams on three points from two matches.

The Atletico fans unveiled a banner reading "Feared in Europe" shortly before kickoff and the home players went after Juventus from the start, deploying the high-intensity pressing game that served them so well last season.

Mario Mandzukic had Atletico's best chance of a tight first half when Juventus surrendered possession close to their penalty area in the 25th minute and the Croatia forward smashed a low shot towards goal that goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon palmed away.

At the other end, Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba found space eight minutes later but his curling effort drifted wide.

Juventus came close to a late equaliser when Atletico captain Raul Garcia almost turned a Stephan Lichtsteiner cross into his own net.