Juventus were once again held to a draw at home in Serie A, on this occasion the match ended 1-1 as a result of two penalties, one in either half.
A BRIGHT START
Juve started well, unfortunately unable to rely on Gleison Bremer in defence, with Federico Gatti and Pierre Kalulu lining up at centre-back, Nicolo Savona and Andrea Cambiaso at full-back, Kephren Thuram and Manuel Locatelli playing in central midfield and then Samuel Mbangula, Teun Koopmeiners and Francisco Conceicao (making his full debut) providing support to lone striker Dusan Vlahovic.
After eight minutes it was Savona who called Simone Scuffet into action from the right-hand side, and then three minutes later Gatti threatened to find the opener with a header.
However, Gatti’s headed effort proved pivotal as after a VAR review it was deemed that Sebastiano Luperto had touched the ball with his hand and Juve were awarded a penalty. Vlahovic stepped up and slotted an unstoppable penalty into the bottom corner to give the Bianconeri the lead. 1-0.
Koopmeiners came close to doubling Juve’s lead straight from the resulting kick off after taking advantage of a defensive error from Cagliari before firing his effort just over.
CAGLIARI FIGHT BACK
Juventus continued to play well, however Cagliari were still in the game: Roberto Piccoli launched a counter-attack in the 18th minute but his powerful effort deflected off target. A minute later, Conceicao forced Scuffet into another save down the other end.
In the 26th minute, Koopmeiners once again tested Scuffet after being brilliantly found by an in-form Vlahovic, but the Cagliari keeper made a good save. The tempo of the game dropped a little, with Juve continuing to defend well and looking to pose a threat going forward, but there were no more clear chances before the half time whistle.
A STRONG START TO THE SECOND HALF
At the start of the second half, Nicolo Fagioli came on for Koopmeiners, and Juve picked up where they left off: only a minute had passed before Conceicao took off down the right-hand side and drove into the box, just as he did in Leipzig, before trying to tee up Vlahovic, but the Cagliari defence were on hand to thwart the danger.
In the 50th minute it was Fagioli whose powerful effort was dragged just wide of the post. The Bianconeri continued to dominate possession: they wanted to put the game to bed, before their small one-nil lead came under threat.
CAGLIARI SNATCH A POINT IN THE CLOSING STAGES
In the 78th minute the chance came to secure the three points, as the ball rebounded to Vlahovic after Douglas Luiz’s initial effort was saved, but the Juve striker was unable to convert from close range and the chance went begging. It would turn out to be a missed opportunity that would come back to haunt the Bianconeri.
Cagliari equalised in the 88th minute: a penalty was awarded to the away side (after VAR consultation) for a foul by Douglas Luiz, Razvan Marin scored to equalise and seemingly snatch a point for his side. The action did not end there and the closing stages saw Conceicao sent off for a second yellow card before both sides hit the post, with Adam Obert hitting the woodwork after a Cagliari counter-attack and Fagioli ratting the post directly from a corner kick.
It ended one-one: leaving Juve with a sour taste in their mouth.
JUVENTUS 1-1 CAGLIARI
Allianz Stadium, Sunday 6 October, 2024 at 12:30 (CEST)
Goals: 15’ Vlahovic (Pen.) (J), 88’ Marin (Pen.) (C).
Juventus: Di Gregorio, Savona (70’ Danilo), Kalulu, Gatti, Cambiaso, Thuram (62’ Douglas Luiz), Locatelli (62’ McKennie), Conceicao, Koopmeiners (46’ Fagioli), Mbangula (77’ Yildiz), Vlahovic.
Unused Substitutes: Perin, Pinsoglio, Cabal, Rouhi.
Coach: Thiago Motta.
Cagliari: Scuffet, Zappa, Mina, Luperto, Obert, Adopo (77’ Deiola), Makoumbou (65’ Marin), Zortea (76’ Mutandwa), Viola (57’ Gaetano), Augello (57’ Luvumbo), Piccoli.
Unused Substitutes: Ciocci, Prati, Palomino, Azzi, Sherri, Felici.
Coach: Davide Nicola.
Referee: Livio Marinelli
Assistants: Damiano Di Lorio, Khaled Bahri
Fourth Official: Davide Di Marco
Bookings: 33’ Thuram (J), 56’ Savona (J), 75’ Conceicao (J), 84’ Cambiaso (J), 88’ Mina (C), 96’ Deiola (C).
Sent off: 89’ Conceicao (J) – Second Yellow Card
Next Match:
Juventus-Lazio
Serie A
Saturday, 19 October, 2024 at 20:45 (CEST)
Allianz Stadium