Old Lady fight back
Off-form Juve bounce back to draw at Cagliari
MILAN: Juventus came back from two goals down at half-time to claw themselves to a 2-2 draw at Cagliari, who took another step towards Serie A safety.
Trailing at the break to penalties from Gianluca Gaetano and Yerry Mina, Juventus salvaged a point as Dusan Vlahovic whipped in a perfect 62nd-minute free-kick before Alberto Dossena’s unfortunate own goal three minutes from time.
The draw is another of a number of disappointing recent results for Massimiliano Allegri’s side whose season is petering out towards a drab ending after for a time promising a league title race.
But two wins in 12 matches have left third-placed Juve 19 points behind league leaders Inter Milan, who can secure the Scudetto by beating local rivals AC Milan tomorrow.
“We gave away every ball we could ... but in the second half the boys did better,” said Allegri.
“At the end of the season we need to sit down and assess things, from there we’ll kick on. The most important thing right now is securing Champions League football.”
Confirmation of Serie A’s fifth spot in next season’s Champions League means Juve are effectively guaranteed a place in next year’s tournament.
With five matches remaining in their campaign Juve are 12 points above sixth-placed Lazio who are three points from the Champions League places thanks to wantaway star Luis Alberto shooting them to a 1-0 win at Genoa.
Dossena diverting Kenan Yildiz’s cross into his own net means Cagliari stay 14th, five points above the relegation zone.
One defeat in their last nine games and a series of hugely impressive performances have lifted Cagliari away from danger after being second-from-bottom in mid-february.
“We need to stay united and we’ll stay in Serie A. The fans deserve and I hope they are proud of us because the boys gave absolutely everything,” said coach Claudio Ranieri.
Luis Alberto swept home the decisive goal in the 57th minute, only a few days after saying that he wanted to rescind his contract and he didn’t “want another euro” from Lazio. The 31-year-old signed a contract extension until 2027 with Lazio just last summer.
Luis Alberto pushed Lazio to within sight of local rivals Roma, who host Bologna tomorrow and sit in the fifth and the final Champions League spot.
Roma also have the final 18 minutes of their interrupted fixture at Udinese to play on Thursday, a match which was locked at 1-1 when Evan Ndicka’s on-pitch collapse caused play to be suspended.