ISTANBUL (Türkiye) – Nightmare evening for Leonardo Bonucci. The former Juventus defender was the negative protagonist of the matchelimination of Fenerbahce in the Conference League quarter-finals. The Turks, after the defeat in the first leg in Greece (3-2) againstOlympiakosthey had managed to re-establish the balance thanks to the network of Kahveci at the opening. A balance that lasted for all the regulation minutes, therefore, since the away goal no longer counts as double, the match went to extra time. In the 122nd minute, in full injury time, coach Kartal sent Bonucci onto the pitch to kick from the spot.
Bonucci fatal from the spot: Fenerbahce eliminated
The Italian defender, who arrived at Fenerbahce in January after six months at Union Berlin, assisted in the first nine penalties and then went on to take the decisive one, the fifth: for the hosts they missed the specialist Tadic and the former Rome Underwho also came on during the match (in the 85th minute), while Olympiakos missed their shot from eleven meters El Arabi And Rodinei. Bonucci, with just seven appearances between the Super Lig and Conference League (10 if we add the national cup) in three months, could have carried the sequence to the bitter end, but was hypnotized by the visiting goalkeeper Tzolakis who understood the direction of his shot and saved it, causing silence to fall on the entire stadium in Istanbul and giving the semi-final to Mendilibar’s team.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
