Juventus returned to the top of Serie A after Cristiano Ronaldo’s late penalty helped seal a 2-1 win against Genoa at the Allianz Stadium.
The away side fought bravely against La Vecchia Signora after playing the majority of the game with 10-men; a fate the hosts would also face later in the game.
Genoa came into the game in dreadful form, having picked up only one point in their last six games, conceding 15 goals in four away games. However, the underdogs showed impressive organisation to frustrate Juventus in the first half.
The hosts only real threat came from set pieces, and they would eventually take the lead from a corner as Leonardo Bonucci rose highest to head home Rodrigo Bentancur’s corner.
It was a lead which didn’t last long, though, as the visitors hit back through Christian Kouame after smart work from Kevin Agudelo. The visitors task was made ten times harder not long after, when Francesco Cassata was given his marching orders for a second yellow card, much to the chagrin of Genoa’s backroom staff.
Juve were unable to break the visitors down despite their numerical advantage, and after spurning the opportunities they did have, went down to 10-men themselves after substitute Adrien Rabiot inexplicably picked up two quick yellow cards. It was a miserable cameo appearance from the Frenchman, whose struggles to settle continue.
The hosts weren’t to be denied, though, as the ever-reliable Cristiano Ronaldo won a dramatic stoppage-time penalty, which he duly converted with aplomb.
Here’s breakdown of proceedings.
Juventus
Key Talking Point
It was a disappointing and lacklustre performance from Juventus against a Genoa side who will have come into the game low on confidence.
Misplaced passes and a large number of turnovers in possession made for a scrappy affair, much to the frustration of Paulo Dybala up front. Starved of any real service, the Argentine resorted to going on mazy individual runs, rather than creating chancees through quick, crisp passing.
Even with a man advantage, La Vecchia Signora rarey looked like scoring and at times looked vulnerable themselves in defence. It was a poor night for Maurizio Sarri’s side, and they can again thank Ronaldo for bailing them out of trouble when it really mattered.
Former Chelsea boss Sarri will know that his side need to improve if they are to have any chance of retaining their Serie A crown.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Buffon (6), Cuadrado (6), Bonucci (7), Rugani (6), Sandro (7), Khedira (6), Betancur (6), Matuidi (5), Bernardeschi (5), Dybala (7), Ronaldo (6)
Substitutes: Ramsey (6), Costa (6), Rabiot (2)
Star Man
Juventus lacked any real spark throughout the game, but Paulo Dybala again looked the most likely to make anything happen for the hosts.
Dropping into deep pockets of space, he often came deep to collect the ball and showed attacking intent by driving at Genoa’s defence. He didn’t get on the scoresheet this evening, but did show that he’s back on top of his game and can forget about how any possible transfer talk in January.
Genoa
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Radu (5), Ghiglione (7), Romero (7), Zapata (7), Ankersen (7), Schöne (8), Cassata (4), Pandev (6), Agudelo(6), Kouame (7), Pinamonti (6)
Substitutes: Radovanovic (6), Gümüs (6), Sanabria (5)
Star Man
Despite finding himself on the losing side, Lasse Schöne showed glimpses of real class. The deep lying midfielder was readily available for the defence to offload the ball and immediately had his head up looking to set his team on the attack.
When defending corners, he was always the man starting the counter attack and looking to thread the ball down the middle for the likes of Pinamonti and Kouame to run on to.
Looking Ahead
Juventus’ next task is away at 12th place Torino on Saturday as they look to extend their lead at the top of the table.
Genoa, meanwhile, will be looking nervously over their shoulder at the relegation zone as they face Udinese.