MILAN (REUTERS) - Cristiano Ronaldo saved Juventus' unbeaten Serie A record this season when he came off the bench to score the equaliser in a dramatic 2-2 draw at Atalanta on Wednesday (Dec 26).
Juve, who dropped their first away points of the season, were down to 10 men at one of Serie A's toughest venues when Ronaldo nodded home from close range in the 78th minute.
The Turin side thought they had snatched a win when Leonardo Bonucci volleyed home from a free kick in stoppage time but it was ruled out for offside.
Juventus, with 16 wins and two draws from 18 games, have 50 points, nine ahead of Napoli who travel to Inter Milan later on Wednesday. Atalanta are eighth with 25 points.
"We knew we were in for a battle today. We did well to stay in the game after going down to 10 men," said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri.
"We could have won it at the end but it's still a good result against an excellent side."
Atalanta defender Berat Djimsiti miscued and sent an innocuous Alex Sandro cross into his own net to put Juventus ahead in the second minute before two goals from Duvan Zapata turned the game around.
The Colombian, scorer of Atalanta's last eight goals, collected Alejandro Gomez's pass with his back to goal and turned easily past Bonucci before firing a low shot past Wojciech Szczesny in the 24th minute.
Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 53rd minute and Zapata headed Atalanta in front from a corner three minutes later.
Ronaldo, left out of the starting line-up for a Serie A game for the first time since his move from Real Madrid, came to the rescue with his 12th league goal of the season.
A corner was floated to the far post, Mario Mandzukic headed it back into the middle and Ronaldo nodded home.
Allegri apologised for his angry reaction on the touchline to Bentancur's dismissal.
"I got a bit angry today and I'm sorry about that but we should be setting an example for the fans," he said.
"If we want to improve things in Italy, we need to improve our football culture."
Chelsea have struggled to replicate the swashbuckling style that earned Sarri gushing praise in his three seasons at Napoli, while relations between the Italian and a large section of match-going
Maurizio Sarri: I can avoid being sacked by Chelsea : The
LIVERPOOL, England (REUTERS) - Bayern Munich showed all their Champions League experience and quality organisation as they held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their last 16 match at
Solid and smart Bayern hold Liverpool at Anfield | Reuters.com
Lionel Messi moved one clear of Cristiano Ronaldo as the Argentine received a record fifth European Golden Shoe award after netting 34 goals last season. The award is given to the player with the
Messi claims record 5th Golden Shoe - Punch Newspapers
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists the Premier League title race is something to get excited about rather than stressed about despite seeing his side overhauled by Manchester City in the past
Klopp excited by Premier League title fight - worldfootball.net
Football: Gareth Bale 'nowhere near' being Real's leader
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks has revealed that the Spurs dressing room was 'fuming' after they failed to beat Wolves at Wembley. when people say that on social media, that is
Spurs' Winks shrugs off social media jibes after loss - espn.in
Chelsea's Olivier Giroud seeks France return to boost game time Olivier Giroud, is hoping to get a starting role with France as he has not started a Premier League game for Chelsea since the club signed Gonzalo Higuain.
Chelsea's Giroud seeks France return to boost game time
The 20-woman squad will be looking to edge a step closer to next year's tournament, with a win on June 8 moving the Lionesses to 16 points and put their destiny in their own hands. Arsenal's Beth Mead keeps her place in the squad, as does Fran Kirby, and Neville expects Russia to focus on England's attacking prowess.
The new stadium will also host Spurs' Champions League quarter-final first leg against Manchester City on 9 April. Tottenham, who have played homes games at Wembley this season, were scheduled to
Paul Merson makes a big statement about Spurs' first match in
Klopp hails Salah as he targets 97-point total, Football News
Casillas has heart attack but Porto says he is out of danger
0 comments:
Post a Comment