28.07.2018 » Benfica 1-1 Juventus. Good test and two great goals in New Jersey

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Just three days after their first pre-season game in the US, Juventus went through their 2nd test in American soil, this time against SL Benfica. The Italian champions rescued a 1-1 draw near the end of the game and then took the victory in a penalty shootout.

Juventus and Benfica squared off in New Jersey at the Red Bull Arena this Saturday evening, in another International Champions Cup fixture to prepare the challenges ahead. The Vecchia Signora struggled more than it was supposed to against a well organized Portuguese side and the best they could do was to snatch a draw near the referee's final whistle, thanks to a splendid goal from Luca Clemenza. The tournament rules then sent the two teams into a penalty-kick shootout, which is almost the same as gambling in a US online casino and hope for the best. Juventus prevailed with a 4-2 win though, scoring in every attempt. In the meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to arrive to Turin this Sunday afternoon to initiate his own pre-season program.

Juventus 1-1 Benfica - Goals and highlights:

Massimiliano Allegri introduced five changes to his side following their previous game in the competition against Bayern Munich, most of those made in the defense. Many of the players that are still enjoying vacations are in fact either midfielders or attackers, so it's natural that until the Allegri has his full squad available and under his orders, most of the rotation we'll be seeing in these friendlies will occur in the defensive sector of the team.

Benfica was a tough nut to crack at this point of the pre-season and they had already beaten Sevilla a week ago and pulled off a draw against Borussia Dortmund last Wednesday. They are a very competitive side who are used to play in the Champions League and they are a couple of weeks ahead in their preparation than Juve, which is obviously a big factor in games like these...

There were only two goals in this Saturday's clash, but each one of those goals were truly memorable. The Portuguese vice-champions scored first around the 65th minute, in a mid-range free-kick taken by Grimaldo. The Spaniard found the top left corner of Szczesny's goal, leaving the Polish goalie stuck on the ground. 1-0 to Benfica, but still enough time left to react.

The 7-time Italian champions sent the game back to square one in the 84th minute, when Luca Clemenza, a 21-year old midfielder, slalomed past two Benfica before curling the ball into the top corner to make it 1-1. Terrific piece of skills from the young Italian, who is not expected to have that much game time throughout the rest of the season.

The two teams then appear to have settled for the draw in regular time and went straight into a penalty shootout decision after the referee's final whistle. Benfica, who had beaten Borussia Dortmund in penalties in mid-week, didn't show the same composure in front of goal this time around, missing 2 of their 4 attempts. Juventus on the other hand, were 100% efficient from the penalty spot and ended up winning 4-2.

Juventus's next fixture will take them to Georgia to face MLS's All Stars team, just 3 days before they take Real Madrid in Maryland. Ronaldo isn't expected at any of these games.

Juventus line-up vs Benfica:

Goalkeeper: Szczesny
Defenders: Beruatto, Chiellini, Caldara, João Cancelo
Midfielders: Khedira, Pjanic, Marchisio
Attackers: Bernardeschi, Matheus Pereira, Andrea Favilli.

Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Juventus is on August 1 of 2018 against the MLS All Stars. You can watch MLS All Stars vs Juventus, Manchester United vs Real Madrid, Barcelona vs AS Roma, Bayern Munich vs Manchester United, Arsenal vs Chelsea, and Tottenham vs AC Milan, all matches provided from our live football game pages.

Juventus next game:
Juventus vs MLS All Stars kick-off time (28-07-2018):

Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 08:00
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 07:00
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 05:00
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 01:30
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 00:30
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 21:30
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 20:30
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 17:30

Sources: ronaldo7.net / juventus.com / beinsports.com / goal.com

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