Champions League | Villarreal 2-2 Juventus – Conceicao comeback spoiled by Veiga

Juventus had to settle for a hard-fought draw away against Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday night, as a last-minute header from former Bianconero defender Renato Veiga meant that Federico Gatti’s bicycle kick and Francisco Conceicao’s individual effort counted for just one point.

Jonathan David got the nod to start up front ahead of Dusan Vlahovic and Lois Openda. He was supported by Kenan Yildiz and Teun Koopmeiners in the attacking roles. There was no Bremer nor Khephren Thuram, who did not travel to Spain with the rest of the Bianconeri squad.

You can see how the action unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog.

The Yellow Submarine came out firing early on in the first half: Nicolas Pepe looking particularly bright. The former Arsenal man beat Juan Cabal for pace multiple times, got the Colombian booked, almost won a penalty, before the Bianconeri defender was taken off with a hamstring injury 15 minutes in. 

The deadlock was broken almost immediately afterwards. Andrea Cambiaso shuffled over to the left to replace Cabal after his withdrawal, but was unable to stop Pepe and Mikautadze as they burst into the area. The Ivorian laid off for the Georgian, who slotted away a tidy, first-time finish. 

Perin was also called into action to prevent Pedraza’s cross finding the back of the net. A fingertip touch helped steer the ball onto the upright. 

Substitute Joao Mario was able to find Yildiz with a neat cross midway through the first half, but the Turk’s shot was smothered and sent behind for a corner. 

Villarreal should have scored through Buchanan, and also saw Mikautadze nutmeg Perin with a cross-come-shot just before the interval. 

Conceicao came on for Koopmeiners at the interval, and his impact was immediate. 

The Portuguese put one on a plate for David almost immediately after kick-off, only for the Canadian to skew off target from five yards out. 

Then, he won the throw-in right next to the corner flag which led to Gatti’s wondergoal. McKennie’s long throw was flicked on by Locatelli, only for Gatti to pull off a ridiculous bicycle kick in the middle of the area. 

Conceicao then intercepted Dani Parejo’s loose back pass, carried the ball the length of the half and slotted past Arnau Tenas with ease one-on-one to put the Old Lady ahead. 

Conceicao’s hard work was undone right at the last, however, when former Juventus defender Renato Veiga headed home from a corner in the final minute of regular time.

Wednesday’s result means that Juventus have now picked up two consecutive draws in the Champions League, and four in a row across all competitions.

Villarreal 2-2 Juventus 

Mikautadze (V) 18’, Gatti (J) 49′, Conceicao (J) 56′, Veiga (V) 90′.