Cape Town - Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim praised Juventus stopper Gianluigi Buffon after Monaco’s 2-0 loss to Juventus in their Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday night.
Two goals from Gonzalo Higuain gave Juventus the win in Monaco, handing the Italians a big advantage ahead of next week’s return fixture.
Following the game, Jardim singled out Buffon for praise.
The veteran keeper has now gone 621 minutes without conceding a goal in the Champions League, and made several top-class saves at the Stade Louis II.
"The effectiveness of Juventus and the judgments of Buffon made the difference tonight. Unluckily for us he made two or three incredible stops,” said Jardim
"Their efficiency also made the difference. We didn't put away our chances tonight.
"I'm really happy with my players. They gave a great impression of French football tonight. Tonight Juve started better than us, we then rebalanced the game.”
Young forward Killian Mbappe was in agreement.
"They had two chances and scored two goals, we had many and scored none, that says it all."