Without Ronaldo, Juventus was defeated in Serie A
The defending champions lost 0-2 to Genoa on the evening of March 17, on the day Cristiano Ronaldo was not registered to play.
Goals: Sturaro 72', Pandev 81'.
Max Allegri decided to rest key players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Giorgio Chiellini and Blaise Matuidi after the incredible comeback against Atletico in the Champions League round of 16. Having won six, drawn one and lost just one of their last eight matches, the "Old Lady" is confident heading into the port city of Genoa.
However, Allegri did not anticipate the decline of his replacements. Paulo Dybala and Daniele Rugani both played poorly. Coupled with goalkeeper Mattia Perin's mistake, the Turin team suffered their first defeat in Serie A in the 2018-2019 season.
Both of Juventus' goals came in the second half, when the visitors pushed forward in search of a goal. The black and white striped team were left exposed, and fell into Genoa's counter-attack. Goran Pandev and Stefano Sturaro, both coming off the bench, scored less than 10 minutes apart, giving the home side a 2-0 win.
|
Cancelo almost gave Juventus a penalty in the first half. Photo: Reuters |
Genoa were the sharper team.Despite only controlling the ball 40%, Cesare Prandelli's students had 18 shots, three times more than the visitors. Striker duo Antonio Sanabria -Christian Kouame's wide movement and good pace constantly troubled the three-man defense led by Leonardo Bonucci. With more luck,Sanabria could have put the home side ahead minutes later, with a close-range effort.
Paulo Dybala, on the day he was tasked with leading the attack, played below expectations. The striker, dubbed "little Messi", moved actively and broke through, but his final decisions were not reasonable. "The Old Lady" kept the ball a lot, but their passes were almost harmless against Genoa's deep-lying defense.
Without their main striker Ronaldo, Juventus appeared to lack ideas in approaching the opponent's goal. They were also lucky to escape a penalty in the 31st minute. The ball hit Joao Cancelo's hand in the penalty area, and referee Marco Di Bello pointed to the 11-meter mark. However, the signal from the VAR room asked Di Bello to review the video. After more than a minute of slow-motion replay, the 37-year-old referee blew the whistle, canceling the penalty for Genoa.
|
Coach Allegri was angry when his players did not play as expected. Photo: Reuters |
|
Former Juventus man Sturaro opened the scoring just two minutes after coming on. Photo: Reuters |
VAR saved Juventus from a penalty but also cost the visitors a goal. In the 57th minute, Dybala scored against Genoa after a cross from Cancelo. However, thanks to VAR technology, the referee disallowed the goal because Emre Can was offside before releasing the ball to Cancelo.
The turning point of the match came from Genoa's substitutes.Stefano Sturaro, two minutes after coming on, comfortably curled the ball into the far corner, after a pass from Pandev. Juventus's loss was partly due to goalkeeper Perin, who slipped and let the ball slip through his hands.
Less than 10 minutes after that goal, Pandev scored himself. The member of Inter's 2009-10 treble-winning team broke through on the left, received a through ball from Kouame, and fired a powerful shot into the top corner. The goal completely destroyed Juventus' will to fight back, despite Allegri repeatedly bringing on Federico Bernardeschi and Leonardo Spinazzola.
The defeat to Genoa did not affect the defending champions much because they are 18 points ahead of second-placed Napoli, although the southern team still has a match in hand.
Line-up
Genoa:Radu, Pereira, Romero, Zukanovic, Criscito, Lerager, Radovanovic (Veloso 75'), Rolon, Lazovic (Sturaro 70'), Kouame, Sanabria (Pandev 60').
Juventus:Perin, Caceres, Bonucci, Rugani, Sandro, Cancelo (Bernardeschi 60'), Can, Pjanic, Bentancur (Spinazzola 77'), Dybala, Mandzukic (Kean 73')
