MillenniumPost
Sports

Juventus beat Fiorentina 1-0 on Cuadrado stoppage-time goal

Milan: Substitute Juan Cuadrado's stoppage-time goal gave Juventus a 1-0 victory against 10-man Fiorentina and ended a three-game winless streak in Serie A.

Although it was barely deserved as Juve's struggles continued.

Juventus didn't even have a shot on target until just before Cuadrado's goal although it did hit the crossbar and have a goal ruled out for offside.

Those chances only came after Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic was sent off in the 73rd minute following two yellow cards in quick succession.

Juventus moved level on points with seventh-placed Fiorentina. They are 13 points behind Serie A leaders AC Milan and Napoli ahead of the rest of the weekend's fixtures. Milan plays Inter Milan in a derby match on Sunday, shortly after Napoli hosts Hellas Verona.

"The team was mentally in the game, which must make us smile thinking about tonight, but it must give us anger thinking about the points left behind against Sassuolo and Verona, which could be fundamental," Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said.

"However, victory tonight boosts our morale and must raise the level of attention for the future even more," he added. "The starting point for returning to being a team that aims for the top is simply running. We need desire and aggression."

Perfect in the Champions League, Juventus was coming off consecutive defeats in Serie A.

It was already without Leonardo Bonucci and also lost fellow defender Giorgio Chiellini to injury in the warmup.

Neither side had a glimpse of goal in a mediocre first half in Turin, but Juventus almost scored a stunning opener shortly after the break as lvaro Morata chested down a ball and then hooked it over Milenkovic before volleying it just past the left post.

Next Story
Share it