Tired Old Lady scrapes past Bologna
MILAN: Leaders Juventus did the minimum necessary to win 1-0 at Bologna in Serie A at the weekend while the VAR system was again at the centre of attention after Fiorentina drew 3-3 at home to Inter Milan, thanks to a contentious penalty in the 101st minute.
The entire Juventus team looked weary, with their minds probably on the Champions League, in their 1-0 win over Bologna and none more so than Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 34-year-old, playing his 33rd game of the season, had only one real chance and that came in injury-time on a counterattack when Bologna were desperately pressing for an equaliser.
Coach Massimiliano Allegri has rotated the side but Ronaldo has been nearly ever-present.
He has started in 24 of their 25 league games and been taken off once, even though Juve have been cruising in a number of those games.
Ronaldo missed one Champions League match through suspension.
“It was probably the worst CR7 of the season, tired physically and in the mind,” said Gazzetta dello Sport.
Beaten 2-0 at Atletico Madrid in their Champions League round of 16 first leg on Wednesday, Juventus face the return on March 12.
Fiorentina’s 101st minute equaliser in the 3-3 draw
against Inter Milan, which was scored from a penalty awarded after a lengthy VAR consultation, was one of the most contentious yet using the recently-introduced technology.
The spot kick was given in the sixth minute of stoppage time after Federico Chiesa’s shot struck Danilo D’Ambrosio at close range.
The referee immediately gave a penalty but then decided to review the incident on the pitch side monitor after a ‘silent check’ from the video assistant.
After a delay of nearly five minutes, the referee pointed to the spot — infuriating Inter coach Luciano Spalletti.
Second-placed Napoli have been let down by wayward finishing this season but their 4-0 win at Parma showed that no other Serie A team can match them for entertainment value when they are in full flow.
Having at one stage reached sixth place, promoted Parma are now in free fall. They have lost their last four home games and dropped to 13th in the table although they are still eleven points clear of the danger zone.