Partey’s Atletico Madrid’s suffer narrow 1-0 loss at Juventus

Thomas Partey returned to the Atletico Madrid line-up in the Champions League against Juventus on Tuesday night, but his side suffered a 1-0 defeat.

The 26-year-old Ghana international was rested at the weekend having been involved with the Black Stars during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

His presence, however, didn’t give the needed spark as Paulo Dybala settled matters on the stroke of half-time with a sumptuous goal.

Partey played through the 90 minutes and was able to contribute 68 passes, the most of his Atleti teammates. His 56 passes at an accuracy of 82.4% were the fifth-highest among the starters.

He produced two shots and successfully completed two dribbles.

Partey also won six of nine ground duels while on the defensive side, he made one clearance and interception each and three tackles.

The result leaves Atletico’s qualification hopes to the Round of 16 in real danger as they are just a point ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, who beat Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0 in the other Group D game.

Victory over the Russians on matchday six at the Wanda Metropolitano is, therefore, the only result which guarantees them a place in the knock-outs.