Juventus took one step closer to qualification from their group tonight in a 1-1 draw at Borussia-Park - the home of Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Stephan Lichtsteiner's equaliser cancelled out Fabian Johnson's opener in a game which Mönchengladbach dominated the majority of due to Hernanes' dismissal in the 52nd minute. Even with their man advantage, the German side failed to find a winner and as a result their hopes of qualification seem to be realistically over.
Die Fohlen with impressive start
Despite Patrice Evra coming close for the visitors after firing over bar in the first minute, Mönchengladbach dominated the early stages of the game. Due to the fantastic fluency of Lucien Favre's side, Juventus struggled to win possession let alone break out of their own half.
It didn't take long for the hosts to threaten Massimiliano Allegri's defence. Youngster Mahmoud Dahoud struck the ball from 30 yards out with a vicious half-volley, but he was denied as he saw his effort crash against the crossbar.
Minutes later, his side continued attacking with great confidence. U.S. international Johnson capitalised on a piece of unusually poor defending by Giorgio Chiellini with a cool finish past Gianluigi Buffon, via an excellent pass from team-mate Raffael.
Three minutes after, the German side continued with their magnificent start through Ibrahima Traoré. The winger was played through brilliantly at the end of another fluid move, however he could only earn a corner after a poor first touch. Juventus were caught napping as he then played a quick one-two and produced a fingertip save out of Gianluigi Buffon.
Nonetheless, Mönchengladbach's attacking threat was starting to fade as they were forced into striking from distance through Granit Xhaka. Though, the Swiss midfielder's shot was always rising as it flashed over the crossbar.
Juventus fight back
The opener seemed to spark some life into last year's Champions League finalists as they started to create problems for the Mönchengladbach defence. First, Giorgio Chiellini threatened with a header that just went wide of the post. Then, using his terrific aerial ability, Patrice Evra forced Yann Sommer into a low save.
Although the Italian champions were creating chances, many of them were far from clear-cut. They needed to provide a world class attacking move to draw level with their opponents just before half-time, and that's exactly what they did.
Out of nothing, Paul Pogba elegantly scooped the ball over the defence and found Lichtsteiner, who fired past international team-mate Sommer with an excellent first time volley. The Swiss full-back returned from injury with a finish that teammate Alvaro Morata would have been proud of.
Hernanes receives red
Juve twice came close to taking the lead through Morata in just the opening five minutes. His first attempt was deflected wide for a corner and then he headed wide from the resulting corner. Just moments later, however, Hernanes saw red after a dangerous lunge on Álvaro Domínguez.
This shifted the momentum of the game in favour of the home side, who restored the dominance they showed throughout the first half. Allegri prepared for the momentum swing by sacrificing striker Paulo Dybala for winger Juan Cuadrado just minutes after the dismissal.
Later in the half, the Juventus manager replaced Morata with Andrea Barzagli as they looked to earn another point in their Champions League campaign.
In an attempt to save their hopes for qualification from their group, Mönchengladbach could only produce two clear opportunities to take the lead.
Lars Stindl was found magnificently by Raffael, only to be denied by the veteran goalkeeper Buffon. With just minutes to go, Buffon was at it yet again, tipping a goal-bound effort from substitute Thorgan Hazard onto the bar. Mönchengladbach failed to find a winner despite thoroughly controlling the majority of the second half.
Qualification looking likely for Juventus
Along with this 1-1 draw, Manchester City's 3-1 win over Sevilla virtually ended Mönchengladbach's hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League, as they sit bottom of group D six points adrift of second-placed Juventus.
It would take a miracle from third-placed Sevilla to beat Juventus to the remaining qualification spot, however it looks set for the Italian side to join Manchester City in qualification, who confirmed their place in the knockout stages with their 3-1 win tonight.