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Davids sees red Deportivo beats Juve 2-0, moves closer to last eightPosted: Wednesday February 27, 2002 4:52 PMUpdated: Wednesday February 27, 2002 7:43 PM
LA CORUNA, Spain (AP) -- Deportivo de La Coruna gave a commanding display Wednesday to beat a disappointing Juventus 2-0 in a fourth-rotation match in Champions League Group D. In an encounter which saw Juventus' substitute Edgar Davids dismissed after the interval, headed goals in each half by striker Diego Tristan and second-half substitute Djalminha gave the Spanish side a fully deserved win. Juventus remains without a victory in Spain since the 1970-71 season and without a Champions League away win since March 1998, 14 matches ago. Deportivo has seven points while Juventus stays on four points in a group which also includes Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen. Although coach Javier Irureta had warned that Deportivo would need patience, the home side began at a blistering pace. Captain Fran Gonzalez appeared unlucky not to be awarded a second-minute penalty after he was held back by defender Alessandro Birindelli and seconds later a fierce drive by Argentine right back Lionel Scaloni was parried by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Deportivo got the reward for its early enterprise in the eighth minute when Tristan beat defender Ciro Ferrara to head home a cross by Juan Valeron. It was the Spanish international's fifth goal in this season's Champions League. Marcello Lippi's side hardly troubled the home defense throughout the first half while Deportivo, employing swift breakaways, looked much the more impressive with the skillful Tristan approaching his best form. Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved produced Juventus' first shot on target when his 38th minute drive was comfortably saved by goalkeeper Jose Francisco Molina. The Spanish international then tipped Birindelli's powerful free kick over the bar as the away side rallied briefly toward the end of the first half. However, Juventus soon faded with Tristan and international midfielder Victor Sanchez each coming close just before halftime. Lippi made a bid to strengthen his midfield by bringing on Antonio Conte and Davids for the second half. The switch made little difference and Valeron and Tristan combined again to just miss out on a second goal in the 58th minute. With Deportivo upping the pace, Fran crossed from the left seven minutes later but an unmarked Tristan wasted a golden chance to extend the lead. Juventus hopes' of drawing level suffered a crucial blow in the 73rd minute when Davids was sent off for his repeated protests over Swedish referee Anders Frisk's decision not to award a free kick. Deportivo ensured it took three points in the 77th minute when Brazilian substitute Djalminha, who had replaced Valeron seven minutes earlier, met a cross from the right by international midfielder Sergio Gonzalez to head powerfully home. In the fifth-rotation matches on March 12, Deportivo visits Arsenal while Leverkusen hosts Juventus. We're not there yet, warns Depor coachDeportivo Coruna coach Javier Irureta was delighted with his side's performance in their 2-0 victory over Juventus in Wednesday's Champions League clash, which took them to the top of group D. But he urged caution with games still to be played against Arsenal, who are level with Depor on seven points, and Bayer Leverkusen, who are level on four points with Juve. Deportivo currently lead the group due to their 2-0 win over Arsenal when the two sides played in Spain in November. "There are still six points up for grabs," Irureta said after goals from Diego Tristan and Djalminha had given his side the win. "We have three more than Bayer and Juve but there's a lot more still to do. We have to try to get something from the game against Arsenal in London and beat Bayer. "The supporters were great tonight. It was one of these special European nights. The fans enjoyed themselves and we gave them a good game to watch against a good side. "Some people don't believe in us but we have to fight and fight against that." Juventus, trailing to Tristan's opener, were just starting to cause Deportivo problems in the second half when Edgar Davids was sent off, apparently for arguing with the referee. "In the second half, after the sending-off, we controlled the game a lot more easily," Irureta said. Juventus coach Marcello Lippi agreed that the Davids red card had helped settle the game but he recognised that Deportivo had played well from the start. "We have to try to get points from the last two games by playing very differently from today," said Lippi, who chose an unfamiliar lineup with three center-backs. "We went into the game convinced we could do a lot more than we actually did. We made a mistake in the way we planned the game." SummaryDeportivo Coruna 2 Juventus 0 -- result Champions League second stage, Group D Scorers: Diego Tristan 8, Djalminha 77 Red card: Edgar Davids (Juventus) 74 Halftime: 1-0; Attendance: 33,000 Teams: Deportivo Coruna: 1-Jose Molina; 12-Lionel Scaloni, 4-Nourredine Naybet, 5-Cesar (15-Joan Capdevila, 85), 3-Enrique Romero; 6-Mauro Silva, 21-Juan Carlos Valeron (8-Djalminha, 70), 16-Sergio, 18-Victor (23-Aldo Duscher, 60), 10-Fran; 9-Diego Tristan Juventus: 1-Gianluigi Buffon; 15-Alessandro Birindelli, 2-Ciro Ferrara, 4-Paolo Montero (26-Edgar Davids, 46), 13-Marco Iuliano, 7-Gianluca Pessotto; 20-Alessio Tacchinardi (25-Marcelo Zalayeta, 68), 11-Pavel Nedved, 16-Enzo Maresca (8-Antonio Conte, 46); 10-Alessandro Del Piero, 17-David Trezeguet Referee: Anders Frisk (Sweden)
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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