Champions League: Juventus ease past Celtic

Mar 07, 2013
Champions League: Juventus ease past Celtic
Italian champions Juventus ended Celtic's Champions League campaign at the last 16 stage by adding two more goals to a comfortable aggregate win. Celtic had some hope early on when Joe Ledley had a good shot but Alessandro Matri followed up on Fabio Quagliarella's shot and scored to make things a lot easier for the home side. Gary Hooper and Efe Ambrose came close again for the visitors but Quagliarella fired one home in the second half to wrap things up. Celtic were trailing by three goals after the first leg, so their hopes of a comeback were quite slim to begin with, but they got on the verge of impossible on 24 minutes when Matri tucked one in from close range. Celtic had a good start to the match though and Ledley nearly put them ahead with a cracking shot from 22 yards which went inches off target. The visitors didn't give up after Matri's goal and Hooper was denied by Buffon before Samaras fired one just wide. Juventus replied after the break through Quagliarella, denied by a smart save from Forster on a first attempt. The Italian forward did better on 65 minutes, he was served perfectly by Vidal and tucked the ball in to make it 2-0. Celtic were unable to get a consolation goal even though Samaras and James Forrest tried their luck with shots from outside the penalty area. Juventus are now among the top five favourites to win the Champions League this season according to Bet365, they are priced at 9/1 for an outright win with top contenders Real Madrid priced at 9/4.
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