Cristiano Ronaldo two penalties salvage Juventus from defeat to tough Atlanta
Juventus welcomed Atlanta to Turin in what was a difficult game for Maurizio Sarri’s side in the Seria A in Saturday night football having Gasperini’s side proved to be hard-to-beat this season especially against big opponents and Juve was one of them.
Juve needed to come from behind twice and from penalties with Cristiano Ronaldo converting all two penalties before they could secure a point against a tough opponents in Atlanta in Seria A top four clash.
Juve got the game underway strongly but it was Atlanta that were the better of the two sides when they broke the game’s deadlock on the 16’ minutes. It started for the visitors when Freuler won back the ball in the centre and latched it to Gomez who skipped Bentancur with a piroutte and put Zapata through to the goal, the Colombian International stabbed hopes with a neat finish.
Before Atlanta’s opener, Juve first launched attack to open the score after enjoying quite a smooth possession before Bernadeschi lobbed a ball over the defence for Dybala but the Argentina forward was far away from the ball for a goal kick.
Juve poured forward in search for the leveler as Ronaldo cut in from the left side and crossed the ball to Dybala- who did very well to bring the ball down but the Argentine was dispossessed by Palomino five minutes after Zapata’s strike.
On the 33rd minute, Juve nearly found back of the net after Dybala beautifully bringing down Rabiot’s long ball from the centre, the former fired the ball at the far bottom corner but Atlanta shot-stopper Gollini got a finger to deflect it wide to deny Juve the equalizer.
Sarri’s side were clearly troubled by Atlanta’s physical and high-pressing approach throughout the first half. But that didn’t prevent Juve from pressing for the first goal they needed the most.
And this time Ronaldo escaped his marker and made a darting run into the box before Dybala squared the ball into his path. However, the Portuguese forward sent a powerful header wide off the post when it was two minutes to the end of first half.
After consistent attacks on the visitors, Juve finally leveled from a spot kick 10 minutes into the second half. Danilo cut in from the right and played the ball to lively Dybala who got a handball from De Roon and the referee pointed to the spot for Ronaldo to strike right corner of the net.
On 78th minute, Ronald could have put Juve ahead but the former Real Madridista’s shot that had penetrated Djimsiti’s legs was saved by Gollini.
Two minutes later, Atlanta restored their lead when a sensational spell of play from Gasperini’s men saw Muriel found Malinovskyi on the edge of the box. The Ukrainian buried his shot into the back of the net with a thunderous strike past Szczesny.
But with only ten minutes remaining and failure for the Turin side to respond quickly means they end the game with a defeat to side they have really dominated in the Seria A for a long time.
Juve pushd forward and Alex Sandro earned a penalty after the Brazilian’s pass hit Muriel’s hand inside the box. Ronaldo who calmly converted the first one stepped in and sent Gollini the wrong way as Juve secure a vital point against a stubborn Atlanta in Turin.
Juve have their unbeaten run against Atlanta in the Seria A since 2001 intact and lead the table with 76 eight points gab off second placed Lazio while the away side extend their unbeaten run to 11 straight games.
Juventus (4-3-3): Szczesny; Danilo, Bonucci, De Ligt, Cuadrado; Matuidi, Bentacur, Rabiot; Ronaldo, Dybala, Bernadeschi
Atalanta (3-4-3): Gollini; Toloi, Palomino, Djimsiti; Hateboer, De Roon, Freuler, Gosens; Gomez, Ilcic, Zapata
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