31 July 2017
Juventus ended the 2017 International Champions Cup on a positive note, earning a 5-4 penalty kick shootout win over Italian rivals Roma after a 1-1 draw over 90 minutes at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Roma had the first major chance of the match in the 14th minute as Diego Perotti found Edin Dzeko unmarked at the top of the box. The forward had time to settle and shoot, but Alex Sandro was there to deflect the shot just wide.
From there, the rest of the first half was all Juventus with Mario Mandzukic nearly opening the scoring in the 23rd minute as a hard, driven cross from Juan Cuadrado found the forward sprinting towards the far post. His sliding shot would go just wide, but it wasn’t long before the Croatian found the match’s first goal.
In the 29th minute, Mandzukic made a hard run down the centre of the pitch with Alex Sandro finding him in on goal. He easily rounded Roma goalkeeper Alisson and slotted home from a tough angle to score his first goal of pre-season, giving the Bianconeri a 1-0 lead at the half-time break.
The second half saw both sides make numerous substitutions and Roma nearly equalised in the 51st minute. Midfielder Kevin Strootman found space near the penalty area and pinged a shot off the crossbar from 20 yards out.
The Giallorossi would eventually equalise in the 74th minute as Aleksandar Kolarov’s perfect cross found Dzeko and he easily tapped home from five yards out to tie the match at 1-1.
After a couple of near-misses, the match would end level after 90 minutes with the contest going to penalty kicks to decide a winner. Carlo Pinsoglio denied Marco Tumminello on the first shot of the shootout, with Juve scoring all five of their penalties to win 5-4 and end the 2017 International Champions Cup with a positive result.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side will return to the pitch on Saturday 5 August as they travel to London to face Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium.
