Juventus 1-0 Monaco: Arturo Vidal scores from the penalty spot to give Italians advantage in Champions League quarter-final first leg

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Monaco bemoan Juve's winning penalty decision after replays suggest Carvalho fouled Morata outside area

Arturo Vidal scored from the spot to give Juventus the advantage against Monaco in quarter-final tie
The Chile international converted from the spot after Monaco defender Ricardo Carvalho fouled Alvaro Morata
The initial contact from Carvalho on Spanish striker Morata appeared to come from outside of the area

Published: 15:34 EST, 14 April 2015 | Updated: 18:37 EST, 14 April 2015

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In the end it took a searching ball from the cultured boot of Andrea Pirlo to settle this tie, a 70-yard pass that caught out Ricardo Carvalho for pace. This was far from a masterful performance by the Juventus midfielder, but he was entitled to ease himself in to this Champions League tie. Pirlo had, after all, been out for seven weeks with a calf injury before he was called upon to start this quarter-final tie.

His 57th-minute pass, which sailed over the heads of the players in both teams towards the target of Alvaro Morata, led to the controversial moment when Czech referee Pavel Kralovec awarded a penalty.

Carvalho, who had been immense alongside Aymen Abdennour in the heart of the Monaco defence, collided with the Juventus forward as he made his way towards goal.

Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal steps up to score from the spot against Monaco in Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg

Monaco defenders Fabinho (left) and Andrea Raggi watch on as Vidal strikes home a penalty to give Juventus the lead in the second half

Monaco goalkeeper Danijel Subasic can only watch on as Vidal sends him the wrong way and puts the ball into the top corner

The Chile international lets out a roar after giving his side the lead from the spot as goalkeeper Subasic looks on at the Juventus Stadium

Vidal celebrates and punches the air as Juventus gained the advantage against Ligue 1 side Monaco on Tuesday night

Juventus fans are rapturous as the team celebrate having taken the lead on 57 minutes after Ricardo Carvalho gave away the penalty

Ricardo Carvalho keeps his eye on the ball but trips Alvaro Morata to give away a penalty - initial contact was seemingly outside of the area

Referee Pavel Kralovec pointed to the penalty spot after Carvalho and Morata crashed to the ground inside the area

Juventus forward Carlos Tevez, pictured with Monaco defender Aymen Abdennour (left), showed off his impressive body art at full-time

MATCH FACTS

JUVENTUS: Buffon 7; Lichsteiner 6, Bonucci 6.5, Chiellini 7, Evra 6.5; Vidal 6, Pirlo 6 (Barzagli 74, 6), Marchisio 6; Tevez 7, Pereyra 7 (Sturaro, 87), Morata 6 (Matri, 83).

Substitutes: Storari, Pepe, Llorente, Padoin.

Scorer: Vidal (pen), 57

Manager - Massimiliano Allegri: 6.5

MONACO: Subasic 7; Raggi 6 (Berbatov 71), Carvalho 7, Abdennour 7.5, Kurzawa 6.5; Joao Moutinho 7, Fabinho 6, Kondogbia 6.5; Dirar 6.5 (Silva 51, 6), Martial 7 (Matheus Carvalho, 87), Ferreira-Carrasco 7.

Substitutes: Stekelenburg, Wallace, Germain, Elderson.

Booked: Carvalho.

Manager - Leonardo Jardim: 6.5

Referee: Pavel Kralovec (Czech) 5

Man of the match: Abdennour

Arturo Vidal settled it from the spot, putting Juve into a lead that they will need to defend when they travel to Stade Louis II for the second leg of this quarter-final next Wednesday. It is far from over.

Juve’s coach Massimiliano Allegri knows that, saving the legs of Pirlo by replacing him with the defensive mind of Andrea Barzagli a few minutes after Vidal’s opener.

This team, who have set the pace all season in Serie A and are 12 points clear of their nearest rivals Lazio, were a touch disappointing in this first leg. Carlos Tevez, who has scored six goals in the Champions League, dropped off in search of the ball in to feet from Pirlo, but this was not his night.

Alongside him Roberto Pereyra faded after a bright opening and Morata’s contribition was the incident which led to Juventus being awarded their penalty.

Before that Pirlo had patrolled the centre of Juve’s midfield with his usual classy touches, prodding around without being able to influence the tie in a way that he would have wanted.

Even so they failed to score in the opening 45 minutes because Vidal, usually so dependable in this Juve team, could not find the target.

Everything was wayward, earning a deserved rebuke from Tevez when he screwed wildly over the crossbar of Monaco keeper Danijel Subasic. Pirlo gave him the eyes after he missed another chance, streaking down the left before his right foot shot flew into the stands.

In many way this was a subdued Juve performance, falling short of the standards they set when they beat Borussia Dortmund 5-1 on aggregate in the second round. Expectations have been raised.

They would dearly love to reach another final, to win the Europen Cup for the third time in their history, but it will take something special to beat the best teams left in the tournament after the second legs are played next week.

There is no guarantee they will survive the second leg because Leonardo Jardim’ s team are an adventurous bunch, playing without fear after their fine run in the competition.

They had chances here, notably from Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco, the man who scored Monaco’s third goal at the Emirates on that memorable night in the previous round.

Sportsmail's Big Match Stats: Juventus 1-0 Monaco

Monaco midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia blocks an effort at goal from Juventus forward Tevez on the edge of the area

Monaco frontman Yannick Ferreira Carrasco fires the ball towards goal past Juventus defender Patrice Evra during Tuesday night's clash

Juventus pair Giorgio Chiellini and Vidal lose out to Monaco forward Anthony Martial in an aerial duel

Monaco wideman Nabil Dirar gets the better of Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo during the quarter-final first leg clash in Turin

Monaco forward Anthony Martial and Juventus' Chile international Arturo Vidal do battle for the ball midway through the first half

This time he had the formidable figure of Gianluigi Buffon to beat and failed to take the chances created for him in the tenth and 12th minute.

After that Monaco sat back, allowing Tevez space at the back post to draw a save from Subasic and giving left-back Patrice Evra scope to maraud down the flank. Ultimately this tie was decided from the penalty spot, a complex and strange decision that was made after a long pause by the Czech match official.

Vidal took the chance, but Pirlo was the undisputed match-winner.