Juventus got the point they needed against Atletico Madrid, so both teams go through to the Champions League Round of 16.
The Bianconeri would qualify with a point and a victory by two clear goals means taking top spot from already-qualified Atleti. Claudio Marchisio was a late addition to the absentee list suffering from a fever, joining Kwadwo Asamoah, Romulo, Kingsley Coman, Martin Caceres and Andrea Barzagli. The Spaniards missed Miranda and Cristian Ansaldi, but surprisingly dropped Tiago and Antoine Griezmann, while Alessio Cerci was again benched.
Juventus got the point they needed against Atletico Madrid, so both teams go through to the Champions League Round of 16.
The Bianconeri would qualify with a point and a victory by two clear goals means taking top spot from already-qualified Atleti. Claudio Marchisio was a late addition to the absentee list suffering from a fever, joining Kwadwo Asamoah, Romulo, Kingsley Coman, Martin Caceres and Andrea Barzagli. The Spaniards missed Miranda and Cristian Ansaldi, but surprisingly dropped Tiago and Antoine Griezmann, while Alessio Cerci was again benched.
Juve were unbeaten in nine European home ties, while Atleti won five of their last six Champions League away fixtures.
Gigi Buffon needed the first desperate save with his trailing hand after six minutes on Koke at the near post following a defensive error, while Fernando Llorente just failed to get the final touch to a Paul Pogba assist from six yards. Carlos Tevez saw his shot charged down by Diego Godin’s arm from point-blank range, so could not be considered voluntary.
Arturo Vidal gave away a counter and then brought down Raul Garcia for the inevitable booking. From that free kick, Buffon had to palm a Jose Maria Gimenez header out from under the bar.
The hosts absolutely dominated possession with over 70 per cent in the opening half-hour, much as they had done in Madrid, but Diego Simeone’s defence held firm. Llorente’s looping header was plucked out from under the bar on a Pogba pass.
Both Jose Maria Gimenez and Siqueira went into the book, but Vidal risked a second on 40 minutes by stopping a Gabi counter-attack.
Atleti continued to have the only shots on target, as Mario Suarez stung Buffon’s gloves from outside the box following a Pogba error.
Straight after the restart, Gabi tried to curl in directly from a corner and hit the outside of the near post with Buffon scrambling. Pogba’s strike was charged down, then Moya made his first save on a Vidal snapshot after 57 minutes.
The Bianconeri stepped up the pressure and a Pogba screamer from distance was spilled by Moya, but Roberto Pereyra ballooned over from a corner and the goalkeeper was quick to capture a Vidal curler.
Llorente accidentally collided with Gimenez, but was able to continue with a large cut to his nose. Another Pogba solo effort whistled just wide, but as they reached the last five minutes on 0-0, both teams seemed to settle for a point apiece and not run further risks. There was only one minute of stoppages, as neither side made a single substitution.
Juventus 0-0 Atletico Madrid
Juventus: Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Chiellini, Evra; Pereyra, Pogba, Pirlo; Vidal; Tevez, Llorente
Atletico Madrid: Moya; Juanfran, J Gimenez, Godin, Siqueira; Mario Suarez, Gabi; Raul Garcia, Koke, Arda Turan; Mandzukic
Ref: Collum (SCO)