Juventus outclassed Monaco for the second game running, trumping the French side 2-1 in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal, progressing to the final via a 4-1 aggregate scoreline.
Playing in front of their crowd, the Bianconeri were never going to relinquish the two-goal lead they held from the away leg, but the manner of their victory on Tuesday night would have surprised even the most ardent of Juventus supporters.
Monaco, forced into a last-minute change before kick off, were expected to take the fight to the hosts like a team that had nothing to lose but unfortunately, they played like anything but.
Benjamin Mendy came in to the side after Nail Dirar pulled up in warm up as Leonardo Jardim sent out his side in an unfamiliar 3-5-2 formation.
Sami Khedira was restored to the Juventus starting XI after missing the first leg for a yellow card accumulation, but his return was short-lived as the German went down inside 10 minute clutching his hamstring. Claudio Marchisio came on to replace him and while initially Juventus didn't look like the dominant side, as the game progressed, their superiority began to grow more evident.
Danijel Subasic in the Monaco goal pulled off save after save to repeatedly deny Juve’s forwards as it become increasingly obvious that it would be Juventus, not the visitors, who would find the breakthrough.
Right-back Dani Alves, man-of-the-match in the first leg, sent in a cross to the far post to Mario Mandzukic to open the proceedings in the 33rd minute. The Croatian striker’s header was initially saved by Subasic, but after the rebound fell kindly to him, he made no mistake from close range to give the hosts the breakthrough on the night.
With the early goal in the bag, Massimiliano Allegri’s men relaxed and exerted even more control over proceedings as Monaco huffed and puffed but could not break down the Italian wall.
And the French side were down two goals on the night and four on aggregate when Alves sent in a sumptuous volley a minute before half-time to finally put the game to bed. Subasic's punch found the Brazilian near the edge of the box and the 34-year-old took a second to steady himself before unleashing an unstoppable shot which flew into the net.
Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon wasn't really tested much, with Mendy sending in a few tantalising crosses, but that was about it for the away side in the opening 45 minutes.
The second period began on a subdued note, with Monaco refusing to up their game and as Paulo Dybala came off fairly early, it became clear that Juventus were content with the scoreline and would not press the issue.
Scoring a goal against a Bianconeri side that had conceded just two goals (none from open-play) in the 2016-17 edition of the Champions League was always going to be a task and while Monaco did manage one, it was little more than a consolation strike for Kylian Mbappe in the 69th minute.
There were a few unsavoury scenes towards the end, spoiling what had been an fairly clean tie of 180 minutes. Monaco’s Polish defender Kamil Glik appeared to stamp on Gonzalo Higuain but referee Bjorn Kuipers appeared to not have seen it. And then Mandzukic elbowed Fabinho inside the box, coming close to conceding a penalty which could have invited unwarranted pressure in the dying stages.
Awaiting Juventus in the final at Cardiff is either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid, most probably the former, and it would be hard to deny them a victory on their second final appearance in three years.
The Serie A title for the sixth-consecutive time is theirs for the taking and with a Coppa Italia final date awaiting, the Bianconeri are on the brink of history for should they trump their Spanish opponents, they would have completed a rare treble of titles.
Remarkable progress for a club that had been slated in recent seasons for selling prize assets like Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal, among others.
Last time the Bianconeri faced a team from Spain, they were well-beaten but after their barnstorming displays this season, it is hard to shake the favourite tag from the Turin-based club.