Juventus maintained their formidable record against eternal rivals Torino with a come-from-behind 4-2 home win in Tuesday’s Derby della Mole. Despite falling behind twice before the break, the record-time Serie A champions extended their winning league streak to four matches.
Yann Karamoah got Torino off to a flying start. Dusan Vlahovic was slow to from an offside line after a corner-kick delivery. The ball bounced off Alessandro Buongiorno straight into the Ivorian’s feet, and he had no problems stabbing home from point-blank to open the scoring only two minutes into the game.
However, the visitors’ celebrations were short-lived. Juventus replied in the 16th minute through Juan Cuadrado. Filip Kostic whipped the ball into the box, with the Colombian left unmarked at the edge of the six-yard box. He slammed a thunderous half-volley into the roof of the net to bring the scoreline back to square one.
Both teams were seemingly content with the result for the remainder of the first half. The heat map switched to the middle of the park, with neither side finding a way to create something meaningful in the front third. Clear-cut chances were at a premium until the 35th minute when Torino came close to taking another lead.
Winter arrival Ivan Ilic sent in an inviting cross, but the Juventus backline averted the danger. Ivan Juric’s charges came knocking on the door again. Ricardo Rodriguez lifted the ball into the box, with Antonio Sanabria beating his man in the air. Unfortunately for the Paraguayan, Wojciech Szczesny was up to the task, denying his header with a brilliant save.
Szczesny was left powerless only moments later. Ilic and Sanabria stole the spotlight again in the 43rd minute to restore Torino’s lead. The Serbian midfielder delivered a pinpoint assist to the in-form Paraguayan, who beat the Polish goalkeeper on the near post with a cheeky finish with the outside of his boot.
Although Torino thought it would be enough to fire them to a halftime cushion, Danilo made sure to prevent that from happening. The Brazilian defender outjumped his marker to meet Angel Di Maria’s corner-kick delivery and bring Juventus back on level terms.
Massimiliano Allegri’s team came inches away from completing the turnaround early in the second half. Vlahovic broke one-on-one with his countryman Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, but despite smashing the ball over the Torino keeper, the crossbar came to the visitors’ rescue. But there’s no denying Juventus were a far better side in the opening 15 minutes of the second half.
Despite a quiet start to the second half, Torino nearly scored for the third time in the 66th minute. Karol Linetty received a precise pass inside the Juventus box and unleashed a delightful strike heading for the top corner, but the woodwork saved the Bianconeri this time. It sent a signal to Allegri to hand Paul Pogba his first minutes in Serie A this season.
But it wasn’t the Frenchman to inspire Juventus’ comeback. Second-half substitute Federico Chiesa found former Torino center-back Gleison Bremer with a clever lofted pass, with the Brazilian defender hitting the far corner of Milinkovic-Savic’s goal with a sublime header. Things soon went from bad to worse for the visiting side.
Kostic executed an almost perfect free-kick, finding Adrien Rabiot on the far post. The French midfielder tapped the ball into the net from point-blank to double Juve’s lead and kill the game off in the 81st minute. After a lengthy VAR check for a possible offside, referee Daniele Chiffi waved the play to continue.
 |
Follow us on Google News for more updates on Serie A and Italian football |