Juventus conceded its first Serie A goal this season as a late Razvan Marin penalty snatched a 1-1 draw for visitor Cagliari on Sunday.
The draw denied Juventus the chance to move back into second place in the standings, and it is third on 13 points, one behind defending champion Inter Milan in second and two behind leader Napoli. Cagliari is 15th on six points.
Dusan Vlahovic put Juventus ahead from the penalty spot in the 15th minute and despite dominating for most of the game, the home side was unable to find a second goal and was made to pay two minutes from time when Marin converted.
Juventus, who had not conceded a goal in its opening six Serie A games, had Francisco Conceicao sent off in the final minutes after he received a second booking for simulation and Cagliari held on to take an unexpected point away from Turin.
Thiago Motta’s side came into the game on the back of a 3-2 Champions League win at RB Leipzig in midweek, where defender Gleison Bremer suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury which will likely keep him out for most of the season.
After Vlahovic stuck his penalty into the bottom corner beyond keeper Simone Scuffet, the Juventus players held aloft Bremer’s jersey in a show of solidarity with their teammate.
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The penalty was awarded after Sebastiano Luperto was judged to have handled a header by Federico Gatti from a corner, and Vlahovic scored his fifth goal in his last three games in all competitions.
Cagliari was happy to hit Juventus on the counter, and minutes after going behind the visitor made a quick break and Roberto Piccoli chose to shoot when a pass to his teammate Gabriele Zappa may have been the better option.
With 12 minutes remaining, Vlahovic was guilty of a horrible miss after Scuffet’s save from a Douglas Luiz effort fell to the Serbian unmarked in front of goal, and the striker somehow pulled his shot wide of the post.
It looked like his penalty would be enough to take the three points, but when Piccoli was fouled by Luiz in the box, Marin hammered his spot-kick into the top corner, to ruin Juve’s perfect defensive start to the season.
Both sides went for the winner in added time, with Cagliari’s Adam Obert hitting the upright with his shot after Juve went down to 10 men, and Motta will have to be content with remaining unbeaten as Juventus manager after nine games in all competitions.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com