A stoppage-time equaliser from Dusan Vlahovic spared Juventus’s blushes against nine-man Bologna on Saturday.
Juventus had to rely on a 95th-minute equaliser from Dusan Vlahovic to save them the blushes against nine men Bologna.
The Bianconeri went into the game as favourites and had 23 shots on goal all match. However, they lacked the cutting edge and saw a mere four efforts hit the target. The visitors took advantage of Massimiliano Allegri’s men’s profligacy, with Marko Arnautovic scoring early in the second half.
Juventus huffed and puffed to find the leveller but were unable to breach a determined I Rossoblu rearguard. They were handed renewed hope when two Bologna players received their marching orders in the 81st minute. Despite being down to nine men, the Italian minnows held firm and almost saw the game through.
Unfortunately for them, Vlahovic had other ideas and struck deep into stoppage time for a share of the spoils. While Juventus might have secured a point, it masks to a large degree the issues abound at the Allianz Stadium. The Bianconeri can not afford to lower their guard lest AS Roma overtake them in the race for fourth. The Hard Tackle looks at how the Juventus players fared on the night.
Wojciech Szczesny: 5/10
The Polish international had little to do on the night apart from picking the ball up from his net. While he must receive some credit for choosing to close down Arnautovic, the Bologna man rounded Szczesny and fired home into an empty net.
Mattia De Sciglio: 5/10
The Italian, to his credit, did make some promising crosses. However, he struggled defensively and was troubled by Mitchell Dijks on numerous occasions. De Sciglio will need to up his game in order to keep his spot in the starting XI.
Matthijs de Ligt: 5/10
It was a largely forgettable night for the Dutchman who was admittedly solid in the opening 45 minutes. He was caught out in the build-up to Bologna’s opener and was left in no man’s land as Arnautovic rounded Szczesny. de Ligt was also taken off at the hour mark after picking up a knock.
Giorgio Chiellini: 6/10
The Juventus skipper was solid in defence and was at hand to largely deal with any threat. He failed to bring the ball out from the back effectively and contributed little to Juventus’s forward forays.
Un punto che non può soddisfarci. Adesso sotto con la Coppa Italia.#JuveBologna pic.twitter.com/lJShglFn1Z
— Giorgio Chiellini (@chiellini) April 16, 2022
Luca Pellegrini: 5/10
Pellegrini was a bundle of energy all night and brought much athleticism to the left flank. He was not afraid to bomb forward when needed and even fashioned a half-decent chance for Adrien Rabiot.
Juan Cuadrado: 4/10
The Colombian was not found lacking in effort and did a fine job playing in central midfield. He struggled defensively against Dijks and somehow contrived to hit the woodwork when presented with an empty net.
Danilo: 6/10
The Brazilian was arguably the pick of Juventus’s central midfielders on the night. He played as the holding midfielder and helped the home side make some key interceptions and win back the ball on numerous occasions. A combative performance by a player who also struck the bar with an excellent header.
Adrien Rabiot: 3/10
?? Adrien Rabiot against Bologna:
? 51 Touches
? 35 Passes
? 92% Pass Accuracy
? 1/1 Dribbles
? 2/2 Aerial Duels
? 7/8 Ground Duels
? 2 Fouls Suffered
? 4 Tackles
? 1 ClearanceMaturing. #Juve #JuventusBologna pic.twitter.com/QGxhAQq44e
— Mozo Football (@MozoFootball) April 16, 2022
Rabiot started off well and showcased excellent spirit. He struggled to keep his energy levels and largely faded away as the match wore on. To add to his woes, he also missed a sitter of an attempt to score on the night.
Paulo Dybala: 3/10
A very sloppy performance by the player who was supposed to have linked the Juventus midfield to the attack. Dybala gave away possession cheaply and struggled to get going all night. Dybala was so poor that Allegri pulled him in the 60th minute despite trailing by one goal.
Dusan Vlahovic: 4/10
This was arguably one of Vlahovic’s poorest performances, but he ultimately saved his side’s blushes deep into extra time. Vlahovic did well to get to Alvaro Morata’s overhead kick and guided it home to secure a share of the points.
2 – Dusan #Vlahovic has scored his 50th goal in #SerieA aged 22 years and 78 days – in the history of the competition, only one foreign player (excluding natives) has reached this milestone younger than him: Alexandre Pato on 10 April 2011 (21 y, 220 d). Jewel.#JuveBologna pic.twitter.com/3GmZN38y8h
— OptaPaolo ? (@OptaPaolo) April 16, 2022
Alvaro Morata: 5/10
The Spaniard was arguably Juventus’s best attacker and played a key role in having two Bologna players sent off. He also aided Vlahovic in scoring the equaliser courtesy of an impressive overhead kick deep into stoppage time.
SUBSTITUTES
Leonardo Bonucci: 5/10
The veteran defender replaced de Ligt at the hour mark but did not have much to do defensively. His efforts to play the ball long and kick start attacks failed.
Ci sono partite che devi vincere in qualsiasi modo, oggi purtroppo abbiamo perso 2 punti. Recuperiamo per mercoledì, per centrare il passaggio alla finale. #FinoAllaFine pic.twitter.com/abCcea6VWx
— Leonardo Bonucci (@bonucci_leo19) April 16, 2022
Denis Zakaria: 5/10
The Swiss international added energy to the Juventus midfield but was wasteful every time he managed to make it to the Bologna penalty box.
Federico Bernardeschi: 5/10
A decent performance by the Italian, who provided a spark of inspiration in the final moments. However, he lacked the cutting edge to drive home the advantage.
Alex Sandro: N/A
He had little to no time to make an impact.
Moise Kean: N/A
He had little time to make an impact.
