Juventus boosted their chances of progressing from the UEFA Champions League group stage with a 2-0 win over Pafos at the Allianz Stadium, but they were made to work hard for all three points.
Pafos started quickly and almost took the lead early on. Anderson Silva’s clever back-heel went just wide, and Michele Di Gregorio had to make a sharp save to stop Andrea Cambiaso from an accidental own goal. Juventus responded, with Kenan Yıldız and Teun Koopmeiners both seeing chances go wide.
The Cypriot champions continued to threaten with fast counter-attacks. Silva hit the post, and Vlad Dragomir’s long-range volley forced another save from Di Gregorio. Jonathan David missed a great opportunity just before half-time, leaving the score goalless at the interval.
After the break, Francisco Conceição came on and almost scored, but Michail kept him out. Juventus finally took the lead when Cambiaso set up Weston McKennie, who fired into the top corner. Six minutes later, Yıldız found an unmarked David on the counter, and he scored to make it 2-0.
The win moves Juventus into the top 20 of the group phase, and they will next face SL Benfica at home. Pafos can take pride in their performance, remaining in contention with just one point behind the leaders with two games remaining.
