Drama struck inside the very first minute as a dreadful clearance from Mattia Perin allowed Maghnes Akliouche a golden opportunity to give the hosts an early lead. However, with the goal at his mercy, Akliouche somehow proceeded to miss the target altogether with the Bianconeri goalkeeper completely out of position.
The match continued in lively fashion and Monaco thought they had taken the lead through Folarin Balogun just before the quarter hour mark, however, this was quickly ruled out due to a push on an opponent during the build-up.
The first shot on target arrived after 32 minutes played, and it was once again Juventus’ defence that came under pressure, as Akliouche held the ball up nicely inside the box before setting up Vanderson whose stinging effort was tipped over the bar by Perin.
While Sebastien Pocognoli’s side certainly had the better of the first half, Juventus came close to taking the lead five minutes before the interval when Lois Openda dragged his shot wide from a promising position to the home crowd’s relief.
The second half was a largely cagey and cautious affair, with both sides seemingly unwilling to take the initiative on an evening of endless permutations. Only one shot was attempted inside the opening 25 minutes following HT, which was a speculative effort that failed to trouble Perin in the Juventus goal.
The Bianconeri’s completely lack-lustre second half performance will be a tough one to take for their supporters, as a victory could have seen them finish inside the top eight of the league phase depending on other results.
In the closing stages of the contest, a free-kick in a dangerous area was placed on target from Monaco’s Jordan Teze but it didn’t have the quality needed to find the back of the net.
A point on the road means that the Old Lady’s run of three UCL wins in a row has come to an end, while Monaco are now without a victory from their last four matches in all competitions. Both teams will find out who they will face in the knockout phase play-offs when the draw takes place on Friday.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mattia Perin (Juventus)