Juventus vs Maccabi Haifa match was a thriller that gave fans a moments of great sporting entertainment. Juventus defeated Maccabi Haifa 3-1 at home on Wednesday to earn their first points in the Champions League this year. Angel Di Maria contributed a hat trick of assists in the victory.
After 35 minutes, Adrien Rabiot received a superbly timed pass from Angel Di Maria, who finished high into the goal. The goal appeared to relieve both coach Massimiliano Allegri and the crowd in the stadium.
In the 50th minute, Dusan Vlahovic was fed by Angel Di Maria from midfield, and the Serbian calmly doubled the advantage by beating goalkeeper Joshua Cohen.
For the Argentinean Di Maria, who had struggled with injuries and a suspension this season, the game signified a return to form.
Juventus vs Maccabi Haifa wins a thriller against Maccabi
“Di Maria was marvellous with his passes, he is an extraordinary player, his first game in quite a while and he did really well,” Allegri told Sky Sport
After Tjaronn Chery’s through ball, Haifa’s substitute Din David was able to get around Juve goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and score in the open net to cut the deficit in half in the 75th minute.
Juventus were stunned by the goal, and the Israeli team was only kept from tying the score in the 81st minute by a superb stop from Szczesny.
“I was very angry at the end because you can’t just leave the game in the final 15 minutes and start messing around. You get the chances to score five or six, but if you concede one and then get scared, that is really damaging,” Allegri said.
“We tried to be a bit too pretty and then got scared. Let Di Maria do what Di Maria does, let the others focus on what they need to do.”
Juve put the game to bed, however, when Di Maria’s corner in the 83rd minute was headed by Rabiot into the corner of the net.
Juventus remained third in the group, behind Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain, who drew 1-1 and both have seven points. Juve will meet AC Milan in Serie A on Saturday before travelling to Israel to play Haifa again on Tuesday.
