Melbourne Victory vs. Juventus: Score and Reaction from 2016 ICC

Alessandro Di Marco/Associated 

Juventus kicked off their International Champions Cup campaign with a narrow defeat to Melbourne Victory on penalties, after playing out a 1-1 draw in normal time. 

Massimiliano Allegri’s depleted lineup took the lead through Carlos Blanco Moreno’s incredible 45-yard lob early on in the second half, but Jai Ingham’s strike after a well-worked Victory move restored parity with eight minutes remaining.

The game went straight to a penalty shootout after 90 minutes, and it was the Victory that managed to get over the line with a 4-3 triumph.

Massimo Pinca/Associated Press

It was a rather forgettable first half at the Etihad Stadium, with Melbourne Victory looking to frustrate Juventus and the Italian giants failing to find a cutting edge.

Paulo Dybala was dropping deep to pull the strings, while stand-in captain Kwadwo Asamoah was causing plenty of problems down the left flank.

Even so, chances were few and far between, as Allegri’s side resorted to taking pop shots from distance.

One almost came off with 21 minutes on the clock, though, as Dybala grazed the top off the net with an excellent free-kick, as Melbourne Victory’s video shows:

— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc)July 23, 2016

Juve continued to pile on the pressure to little or no avail, but they did come perilously close to taking the lead on the half-hour mark.

Daniele Rugani latched on to an inch-perfect cutback from 12 yards, but his first-time effort deflected behind off the outside of the post, per the Victory:

— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc)July 23, 2016

Despite Juventus’ dominance, they could so easily have found themselves behind at the break.

Mitch Austin, who looked dangerous from the outset, put in a stunning cross towards Besart Berisha, but his close-range diving header was kept out brilliantly by Juve stopper Neto.

That’s as close as any side came in the opening 45 minutes, and even though Juventus made eight changes at the break, they picked up from where they left off by putting pressure on the Victory back line.

Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

Lorenzo Rossetti found himself in a great position just outside the box, butt his low drive was smartly saved by Lawrence Thomas in the Melbourne goal.

It was becoming one of those games that was only going to be separated by a moment of genius, and it duly arrived 13 minutes after the restart.

Blanco Moreno, who came on for the Serie A side at half-time, spotted Thomas off his line and tried an audacious shot from 45 yards—and it came off.

The lob was perfectly placed and brought the entire Etihad Stadium to a standing ovation. William Hill revealed the moment Juve took the lead in outrageous fashion:

Carlos Blanco with a cracking half way line effort for Juventus against Melbourne Victory pic.twitter.com/e9o3ijmXW6

— William Hill Betting (@WillHillBet) July 23, 2016

Naturally, the stunning strike brought about endless praise, with FOX Sports' Matt Connellan one of many in awe at Blanco’s brilliance:

That goal by Carlos Blanco was absolutely unbelievable #ICCVICJUV

— Matt Connellan (@MattConnellan) July 23, 2016

Once Juventus calmed down, they set about trying to see out the game. However, they were undone by a stunning Victory move with just eight minutes left on the clock.

A flowing, one-touch move eventually made its way to Ingham, who slotted the ball home in emphatic style, per Melbourne Victory:

83' GOAL! 13 passes ended with Jai Ingham firing home to level proceedings! #MVFC 1-1 #ICCVICJUV pic.twitter.com/btzK8NyAWT

— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) July 23, 2016

The Australian side had barely threatened in the second period, but the way they dissected the Juventus defence was special.

Neither side managed to find a winner late on, which meant the game went straight to penalties with two points on the line.

In the end, Melbourne Victory reigned supreme, as Stefano Padovan missed the decisive spot-kick to give the Australian side the win.

MISS! Stefano Padovan misses for @juventusfcen.

MELBOURNE VICTORY WIN 4-3 ON PENALTIES! #ICCVICJUV

— Int Champions Cup (@IntChampionsCup) July 23, 2016

Juventus are back in action against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday, when they’ll look to bounce back from their narrow defeat.

Allegri doesn’t have a wealth of choice at his disposal in the ICC, but if he can keep his side organised then they’ll give Tottenham plenty to think about.