Juventus vs Genoa: Juve win 2-1, as Ronaldo scored in injury time

Ronaldo Celebrating the goal
Ronaldo Celebrating the goal

Juventus vs. Genoa match saw the defending Serie A champion to return to the top of Serie A after Cristiano Ronaldo earned a late penalty and scored to earn full points for his team at the Allianz Stadium. Genoa fought bravely against La Vecchia Signora after playing the majority of the game with 10-men. The host also reduced to 10-men in the second half.

Genoa came into the game with few poor performances back to back, having picked up only one point in their last six games, they have conceded 15 goals in four away games. However, the underdogs Kept the champions waiting until the very end of the match.

The host’s only real threat came from set-pieces, and the goal also came in a similar fashion when Leonardo Bonucci sprung highest to head home Rodrigo Bentancur’s corner.

The lead didn’t last long, though, as the visitors hit back through Christian Kouame after smart work from Kevin Agudelo. The visitor’s task was made multiple times harder not long after when Francesco Cassata was given his marching orders for a second yellow card.

Juve were unable to take the lead despite their numerical advantage, and having many opportunities, they did have, went down to 10-men themselves after substitute Adrien Rabiot picked up two yellow cards very quickly. It was a miserable cameo appearance from the french-national 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. It was a disappointing and lackluster performance from Juventus against a Genoa side who will have come into the game low on confidence.

There were a lot of miss passes, much to the frustration of Paulo Dybala upfront. Starved of any feed from mid-field, the Argentine resorted to going on individual runs, rather than creating chances through quick, crisp passing.

He dropped into half line to collect the ball and showed attacking intent by driving at Genoa’s defense. He didn’t score a goal tonight but did show that he’s back to business, and Juve can forget his transfer during the January window.

Even with a man advantage, Juventus rarely looked like scoring and at times looked vulnerable themselves in defense. It was a bad show for Maurizio Sarri’s side, and they can again thank Ronaldo for bailing them out of trouble when it really mattered.

After todays Juventus vs. Genoa match, Maurizio Sarri and Juventus know that his side needs to improve if they are to have any chance of retaining their Serie A crown. Juventus lacked creativity throughout the game, but Paulo Dybala shone the brightest.

Starting XI: Buffon, Cuadrado, Bonucci, Rugani, Sandro, Khedira (Rabiot, 61″), Betancur, Matuidi(Ramsey, 61″), Bernardeschi (Costa, 79″), Dybala, Ronaldo

Starting XI: Radu, Ghiglione, Romero, Zapata, Ankersen, Schöne, Cassata, Pandev (Gümüs, 68″), Agudelo (Radovanovic, 84″), Kouame(Sanabria, 81″), Pinamonti