Higuain Hart-ache for Torino
MILAN — Gonzalo Higuain fired a last-gasp equalizer past England goalkeeper Joe Hart to rescue Juventus in a 1-1 derby draw with Torino on Saturday that kept the Serie A giant’s title celebrations on ice.
Torino looked to be heading for its first derby win over Juve since April 2015 when Adem Ljajic put the visitor ahead minutes after the restart.
But Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side lost midfielder Afriyie Acquah in the 57th minute after he was sent off after a second booking.
And despite battling all the way, their hopes of causing an upset days after the club commemorated the 68th anniversary of the Superga air disaster — which killed the entire ‘Grande Torino’ squad when their plane hit the Superga Basilica overlooking the city on May 4, 1949 — ended when Higuain fired a low angled strike past Hart in the second minute of stoppage time.
Three days before Juventus hosts Monaco looking to reach the Champions League final after its 2-0 first-leg, semifinal victory last week, coach Massimiliano Allegri called for composure.
“We created a lot of chances without putting them away, and when that happens panic starts to set in and you lose lucidity,” Allegri told Mediaset Premium.
“But that’s football. Sometime you create lots of chances and come away with nothing, or the contrary can happen.
“But we’ve taken a point towards the scudetto. Before, we needed four points, now we need three.”
Juve’s fourth draw of the campaign leaves the 32-time champion top of the pile with an eight-point lead on Napoli, which moved up to second earlier on Saturday with a 3-1 win at home to Cagliari.
It means Juventus will have to wait until at least next week, when it travels to Roma, before it can celebrate a record sixth straight scudetto.
With 24 Serie A goals so far, Higuain, who won the top scorer’s ‘Capocannoniere’ award last term with a record 36 goals for Napoli, is now one shy of joint leaders Andrea Belotti of Torino and Roma’s Edin Dzeko.
Having hit both of Juve’s goals in the Champions League at Stade Louis II last week, Allegri heaped praise on the Argentine striker.
“He’s in great form at the moment. He’s scored an important goal for us, he’s playing for Juve and we’re all happy,” said Allegri.
Roma, in third at two points behind Napoli and 10 behind Juve, can move back up to second place with a win at AC Milan on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Dries Mertens hit a brace on his 30th birthday – joining Higuain and Inter’s Mauro Icardi on 24 goals – as Napoli won 3-1 at home to Cagliari.