Juventus’ third place finish in their Champions League group means they’ll drop down to the Europa League, a competition they haven’t played in for over eight years.
The Bianconeri failed to impress in Group H, picking up painful losses in all but one of their six outings. It was an incredibly disappointing result for Massimiliano Allegri and his squad, who have looked poor as they continue working through the early stages of a squad transition. Juventus now have the chance to find a little redemption in the Europa League.
The last time Juventus competed in the competition came in the 2013-14 season under Antonio Conte. The Old Lady ended up third in their Champions League group that year, finishing one point behind Galatasaray and 10 behind Real Madrid, relegating them to the Europa League.
With a squad containing the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio and Carlos Tevez, the team reached the semi-finals of the competition, beating Trabzonspor, Fiorentina and Olympique Lyon along the way. Conte’s side fell to a tough 2-1 loss to Benfica in the first leg of the semi-finals and couldn’t break the deadlock when playing at home, sealing their fate.
Below is Juventus’ most recent starting 11 in the Europa League:
Juventus (3-5-2): Buffon; Caceres, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Pogba, Asamoah; Llorente, Tevez.