Football Italia
·6 October 2024
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·6 October 2024
Juventus stalled in Serie A again in a tale of two penalties with Cagliari, as Dusan Vlahovic and Razvan Marin converted for a 1-1 draw with Francisco Conceicao sent off for simulation.
The Bianconeri had not conceded a single Serie A goal this season, but were coming off a thrilling Champions League 3-2 comeback win when down to 10 men at RB Leipzig. Gleison Bremer and Nico Gonzalez sustained serious injuries in that game, the defender out for six months, the forward for six weeks, with Arkadiusz Milik and Tim Weah also out of action, so Francisco Conceicao got his first start. The Sardinians got their first win last week against Parma, but missed Leonardo Pavoletti, Gianluca Lapadula, Jakub Jankto and Mateusz Wieteska.
Nicolò Savona stung Simone Scuffet’s gloves at the near post, but Juve received a penalty when Federico Gatti’s header on a corner was deflected off Sebastiano Luperto’s fingertips. Dusan Vlahovic converted low into the bottom corner and the players all rushed to the touchline to celebrate holding up Bremer’s jersey after his devastating injury midweek.
Teun Koopmeiners threatened a second moments later, blasting over after a cheap giveaway, while Roberto Piccoli wasted a dangerous counter-attack and Francisco Conceicao tested Scuffet.
Koopmeiners again was denied by Scuffet at the near post on a Vlahovic assist, while the Serbian turned wide straight after the restart on a Francisco Conceicao solo run down the right.
Substitute Nicolò Fagioli’s chest and volley flashed just wide, but Zito Luvumbo came on to give Cagliari more pace on the counter.
Conceicao stung Scuffet’s gloves at the near post after turning his marker inside out, as did Vlahovic with a ferocious half-volley when running onto a long ball.
Yerry Mina made a decisive block to stop Vlahovic sliding onto the Conceicao assist from six yards, but Michele Di Gregorio was almost surprised by a Razvan Marin free kick that only grazed Gatti’s head.
Juventus wasted a huge opportunity to double their lead on 78 minutes, as Scuffet got down and only parried the Douglas Luiz daisy-cutter as far as Vlahovic, who incredibly turned the rebound wide.
Those Juventus errors proved costly, because late on Piccoli’s first touch was poor on the cut-back, but he turned and managed to flick the ball on just before Douglas Luiz came steaming into him. A penalty was awarded following a VAR On-Field Review and Razvan Marin converted into the top corner, scoring the first goal conceded by Juventus in Serie A this season. It was also the second game in a row where Douglas Luiz’s only contribution was giving away a spot-kick after the 3-2 in Leipzig.
Moments later, there was another flashpoint as Conceicao ran into the box and went down when feeling Adam Obert’s hand on his shoulder. The referee had it all in his view and immediately flashed a second yellow card for simulation, reducing Juventus to 10 men.
The Sardinians wanted to win this and nearly did, as Marin’s screamer was over the bar and Obert’s low drive thumped the base of the upright.
Juve also threatened, a desperate Obert interception preventing Weston McKennie getting the tap-in and Nicolò Fagioli’s corner kick curled directly onto the frame of the goal.
Vlahovic pen 15 (J), Marin pen 88 (C)
Sent off: Conceicao 89 (J)