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Gunners gone Juventus eliminates Arsenal with 1-0 victoryPosted: Wednesday March 20, 2002 4:59 PMUpdated: Wednesday March 20, 2002 8:30 PM
TURIN, Italy (AP) -- Already-eliminated Juventus, fielding several substitute players, stunned Arsenal 1-0 in a Group D match Wednesday, sending the Gunners out of the final eight in the Champions League. Uruguayan striker Marcelo Zalayeta, starting in place of injured French star David Trezeguet, headed in the game winner in the 76th minute off a corner kick. Arsenal's French striker Thierry Henry wasted a second-half penalty kick and a clear scoring chance a few minutes later as the English team failed to achieve a much needed victory at Turin's Delle Alpi stadium. With a record of 2-1-3 and seven points after six rotation matches of the second phase, Arsenal missed qualification for the quarterfinals as well as Juventus, which also finished with 2-1-3. Bayer Leverkusen and Deportivo de La Coruna moved into the quarters with 10 points each in the group standings. "We missed qualification in the previous matches against Deportivo and Bayer," Juventus defender Ginaluca Pessotto said. "We played fairly well tonight, but lack of pressure, as we were already out, helped us. Now we are concentrating on the league title." Juventus, missing such injured key players as Alessandro Del Piero, Trezeguet and Lilian Thuram, mostly devoted to defense and control of midfield play. The home team, supported by a few thousand fans, scored in one of its rare counterattacks while Arsenal forwards either squandered scoring chances or were stopped by Uruguayan goalkeeper Fabian Carini. Carini started as substitute for national team keeper GianLuigi Buffon and made decisive saves on Henry and Fredrik Ljungberg. French midfielder Robert Pires spoiled an easy scoring chance in the 45th, kicking wide. Henry had the best chance to put Arsenal in front in the 51st, when he was fouled by Cristiano Zanoni and was awarded a penalty kick. In a repeat of the miss against Deportivo eight days ago in Arsenal's 2-0 loss, Henry failed to convert. Carini dived on Henry's shot from the 11-meter spot and deflected the ball on the post, saving his net. Three minutes later Henry beat two Juventus defenders and kicked wide from a difficult position. As Arsenal vainly pressed on the attack in the closing minutes, Juventus had the opportunity the make it two in injury time. Keeper David Seaman saved on a powerful drive by Enzo Maresca. About 3,000 disappointed English fans stood astonished and silent on the stands at the end of the match as Arsenal missed the first of its three season targets. Disappointed Wenger promises to try againArsenal manager Arsene Wenger promised to try again in next year's Champions League after the English side failed to make the quarterfinal stage on Wednesday. "It was a disappointment," said Wenger, "We had the right attitude and battled until the last moment. We created chances but we couldn't score. We were unfortunate to lose the game. All credit to my boys." Wenger said he was surprised by Bayer's win in Spain but added that it was last week's home defeat to Deportivo that cost his side the chance of progressing. "It is a surprising result and disappointing. I think we lost [qualification] at home against Deportivo. If we had won or drawn against them it would have been a different situation tonight," said the Frenchman. The Arsenal manager said Henry's penalty failure -- a week after he missed one against Deportivo -- would affect his compatriot. Among best But he was sure the striker would bounce back and he insisted that despite their elimination he believed his team were among the best in Europe. "We will come back from this. We are in a good way and we are a team that is good enough to win it. What we need is consistency. "It is always frustrating not to win the competition but we were very close to going through. We will respond, we are used to that. Now we need to recover mentally and physically," said the Arsenal boss. Arsenal will now focus on the English premier league and FA Cup, said Wenger. "We are in a very good position in the championship. We will have a go to win the championship and then FA Cup -- we will come back." Wenger admitted that playing in front of a tiny crowd in the 55,000 capacity stadium, without knowing whether a win would be enough to see his side through was "odd, very strange," but he said teams had to accept the format of the Champions League. "The competition is what it is. Many people think about how to reorganize the competition but nobody finds the solution because less games means less money and nobody can afford it. "So we can all criticize the competition but at the end of the day we have to all go with it." Lippi left bitter-sweet by Juve farewell winJuventus coach Marcello Lippi said he was left with a bitter-sweet feeling after his side beat Arsenal in their final Champions League Group D match on Wednesday, having already been eliminated. Despite the surprise win, Italy are left without a side in the last eight of the competition for the second successive season and Lippi said Serie A teams were paying the price for the hype and pressure that surrounds the Italian league. Juve's defeat at Bayer Leverkusen last week ended any hopes they had of progressing to the quarterfinals and Lippi fielded a largely second-string side against Arsenal in a game played in front of a tiny 7,470 crowd. "I am left with contrasting feelings," said Lippi, "What is certainly positive is the performance tonight. "It was a good showing from all the team -- the regulars, the youngsters and those who get little chance to play. I was particularly pleased with the way the young players responded to this chance," said Lippi. Italy under-21 international Enzo Maresca was the pick of the fringe-men for Juve while Uruguayan back-up striker Marcelo Zalayeta also delivered a strong showing, grabbing the 76th minute winner with a header from a Maresca corner. Bitterness "But of course there is bitterness as well," said Lippi. "I don't think we really deserved to finish in the position we have in this group. The reality is that we lost our chance of qualifying with the home draw to Deportivo. "We played three great teams in this group, but there is a real difference in the way these teams have performed at home and away," said Lippi. Juve were outclassed by Arsenal at Highbury earlier in the competition and crushed Bayer Leverkusen at home before their defeat in Germany last week. The Turin side's formal exit from Europe comes a day after Serie A champions AS Roma were eliminated following a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool and ends Italian participation in a competition they once enjoyed great success in. Lippi said he agreed with Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni's view that Italian teams were paying the price for the excessive pressure on the big teams in Serie A. "Trapattoni is a widely respected coach with vast experience. What he has said about this situation is important -- the explanation he gave is that there is hyper-tension in Italian football," Lippi said. "The players cannot recover the mental and physical energy three days after a test in Serie A. That kind of tension does not exist in any other championship and it affects the nerves of the players as well as their physical energy." SummaryJuventus 1 Arsenal 0 - result Champions League second stage, group D Scorer: Marcelo Zalayeta 76 Halftime: 0-0; Attendance: 7,470 Teams: Juventus: 22-Fabian Carini; 14-Cristian Zenoni, 15-Alessandro Birindelli, 13-Mark Iuliano, 3-Michele Paramatti (7-Gianluca Pessotto 24); 19-Gianluca Zambrotta (27-Nicola Amoruso 70), 8-Antonio Conte, 26-Edgar Davids; 16-Enzo Maresca; 38-Tomas Guzman (33-Vincent Pericard 61), 25-Marcelo Zalayeta Arsenal: 1-David Seaman; 2-Lee Dixon, 22-Oleg Luzhny, 23-Sol Campbell, 12-Lauren (3-Ashley Cole 82); 8-Fredrik Ljungberg, 4-Patrick Vieira, 17-Edu (11-Sylvain Wiltord 79), 7-Robert Pires; 14-Thierry Henry, 25-Nwankwo Kanu Referee: Karl-Erik Nilsson (Sweden)
Reuters contributed to this report. |
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