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17.03.2019 » Genoa 2-0 Juventus. No Ronaldo, no party!
Following the epic win in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid in mid-week, Juventus had a tough trip to Genova scheduled for this Sunday morning and for the first time this season, the Vecchia Signora were defeated in the Serie A. The Italian champions were unbeaten in their first 27 games in the league this season, but with the accumulated fatigue from their mid-week clash against Atletico and multiple rotations in the starting lineup, the Serie A leaders felt the bitter taste of defeat in a 2-0 loss to Genoa. Cristiano Ronaldo was spared the embarassment from today's defeat, but he should play again for Portugal next Friday against Ukraine.
Genoa 2-0 Juventus - Goals and highlights:
No Ronaldo, no shots on target...
The decision to rest Cristiano Ronaldo today against Genoa probably costed the Italian champions the chance to finish this Serie A campaign unbeaten. Without the Portuguese superstar on the field and with other usual starters on the bench, the Vecchia Signora was not strong enough to avoid defeat and Genoa earned a well deserved victory at home, beating the champions by 2-0.
Last October, Genoa had already surprised Juventus when they visited the Allianz Stadium to scrap a 1-1 draw from the champions. At the time, the Bianconeri's goal was scored by Cristiano Ronaldo... Today and without the Portuguese around to give his contribution, Juventus had a dreadful day and couldn't even hit the target a single time. Genoa finished the game with 5 shots on target out of 18 attempts, while Juventus had 6 shots but none of those were on target...
With a lot of tired legs on Juventus' side, the team was far from presenting the intensity and agressiveness levels they've shown against Atletico on Wednesday. Which, let's say, was expectable... The Champions League game was probably the most important one of the season so far, while all remaining games in the Serie A don't really motivate players anymore since the title fight is pretty much over. Even accounting today's loss, Juventus holds a 20-point lead over Napoli, with 10 games left in the championship.
Juventus paid the price for the effort in the Champions League
Juventus lacked pretty much everything this Sunday morning. Almost as if they were still recovering from a heavy hangover... Perin, the goalkeeper on the day, still had several good saves that helped keeping Juventus in the game, but the hosts would eventually break the deadlock deep inside the second half...
The opener was scored in the 72nd minute, from a player who still belongs to Juventus' ranks but is on loan to the Genove side. The Italian midfielder had all the time in the world to prepare his shot just outside the box and managed to beat Perin for the 1-0 with a well placed strike. It was the first appearance for the 26-year old and also his first goal since the 2015-16 season.
The second goal came from a well planned counter-attack by Genoa, around the 81st minute of the game. Christian Kouamé, one of the players on the pitch this morning, left the ball over to the former Napoli and Inter forward Goran Pandev and the Macedonia international used his left foot to strike the ball brilliantly into the far post. Perin had no chance at all and Genoa were 2 goals up against the Italian champions.
The last time Juventus had lost a game in the Serie A goes back to April 22 of 2018, when they left the 3 points at the San Paolo stadium in a 1-0 loss against Napoli. It's been almost a year since that game, in a period where the Biaconeri earned 27 wins and 4 draws.
Juventus line-up vs Genoa:
Goalkeeper: Perin
Defenders: Cáceres, Bonucci, Rugani
Midfielders: João Cancelo, Pjanic, Can, Bentancur, Alex Sandro
Attackers: Dybala, Mandzukic.
Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
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|---|---|---|
Genoa
|
vs
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Juventus
|
2 |
Goals |
0 |
18 |
Shots |
6 |
5 |
Shots on goal |
0 |
6 |
Corner kicks |
6 |
12 |
Fouls commited |
11 |
2 |
Yellow cards |
3 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
40% |
Ball possession |
60% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Portugal is an European qualifier on March 22 of 2019, against Ukraine. You can watch Portugal vs Ukraine, PSG vs Marseille, Betis vs Barcelona, AC Milan vs Inter, Everton vs Chelsea, and Bayern Munich vs Mainz, all matches provided from our live soccer game pages.
Juventus next game:
Portugal vs Ukraine kick-off time (22-03-2019):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 04:45
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 03:45
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 02:15
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+1: 21:45
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 20:45
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 19:45
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 16:45
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 15:45
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 12:45
Sources: ronaldo7.net / juventus.com / usatoday.com / goal.com
