Champions League Roundup | Juventus and Monaco enter semis

Champions League Roundup | Juventus and Monaco enter semis

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Juventus entered the semifinals of the Champions League on the basis of their 3-0 win over Barcelona in the first leg as the second ended in a 0-0 stalemate. In another quarterfinal, Monaco beat Borussia Dortmund 3-1 (6-3 aggregate) to progress to the last-four stage for the first time since 2004.

Barcelona 0 - 0 Juventus

Barcelona failed to emulate the performance against Paris Saint-Germain in the previous round, regarded as one of the great comebacks in the competition's history, at their home fortress Camp Nou. With the 3-0 aggregate victory, Juventus exacted revenge for the loss in the 2015 CL final. Massimiliano Allegri's men have now joined Atletico Madrid, Monaco and Real Madrid in the last-four.

It was a night of missed opportunities for the hosts as Lionel Messi fired over the bar while Luis Suarez and Neymar failed to find balance in their attempt. In fact, the Catalans could only manage to hit one shot on target in the entire match.

Juve, too, missed a number of chances but that didn’t matter much for the Italian champions, who have not conceded a single goal from open play in the Champions League this season.

Barca failed to reach the semifinals for a second successive season, having lost to La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals last year. 

Monaco 3 - 1 Borussia Dortmund

France striker Kylian Mbappe Lottin opened the scoring for Monaco in the 3rd minute. Taking advantage of a fragile Dortmund defense, Radamel Falcao scored the second goal for his team in the 17th minute.

The Bundesliga side staged a fightback as Marco Reus cashed in from 19-year-old forward Ousmane Dembele’s pass to take the score sheet to 2-1. But Monaco’s substitute, Valere Germain, scored 22 seconds after coming off the bench for the hosts to secure their spot in the last-four.

"It could have been 5-3 or 6-3 because both teams missed several chances. We played a very solid game, we were in control but we showed ambition. We were always looking for the extra goal. That is the way we play, it is in our DNA," Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim told a news conference.

"Now, regardless of who we will take on next, we will be facing a very experienced team. Our rivals will want to draw us [on Friday] but our ambition is to enjoy it and play with our attacking qualities like we always do."

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