Juventus' defender Giorgio Chiellini reacts at the end of the UEFA Europa League semifinal first leg football match SL Benfica vs Juventus at the Luz stadium in Lisbon on April 24, 2014. PHOTO: AFP
LISBON: Juventus coach Antonio Conte was disappointed by his team’s lack of focus when they lost to Benfica, as Brazilian striker Lima struck a wonder goal with six minutes remaining, edging Benfica to a 2-1 semi-final first-leg win in the Europa League on Thursday.
“It’s a shame, as at that moment we were pushing for our second goal,” said the Juve coach. “We fell asleep at the back.”
After Carlos Tevez tucked away a brilliant equaliser for Serie A leaders Juventus with 17 minutes remaining at the Estadio do Luz, Lima smashed home an unstoppable drive to give the Lisbon outfit a precious advantage. Juventus must now score at home next Thursday to keep their bid on track to reach the final at the Juventus stadium on May 14.
In the other semi-final, Sevilla beat La Liga rivals Valencia 2-0 at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
The hosts went ahead after Stephane Mbia backheeled the ball into the roof of the net despite clearly being in an offside position before Carlos Bacca doubled Sevilla’s advantage soon after.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 26th, 2014.
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