13.04.2019 » SPAL 2-1 Juventus. The title party will have to wait a bit longer
Juventus are not going to celebrate the Serie A title just yet, even though everyone knows it's only a matter of time. The Italian giant travelled to Ferrara to lock horns with SPAL this Saturday afternoon and a single point would have been enough to secure the title in mathematical terms. However and with a huge game against Ajax scheduled for next Tuesday, Allegri didn't think twice about rotating his team and somehow that allowed SPAL to believe they could snatch the 3 points, which ended up happening in a 2-1 victory. Cristiano Ronaldo and a few other regular starters were rested and Juventus' only goal in this game was scored by the inevitable Moise Kean.
SPAL 2-1 Juventus - Goals and highlights:
Delaying the inevitable
It may have not happened today, but certainly everyone agrees that Juventus are going to wrap up their 8th consecutive Serie A title sooner or later. This Saturday, Massimiliano Allegri gambled a bit and gave a chance to several players that had very little playing time this season, something perfectly understandable given the circumstances. The Vecchia Signora only needs one more point to secure the Serie A title and they still have 6 fixtures left to be played. And the more likely is that they won't even need to get that point missing, since any slip from Napoli will automatically hand Juventus the Italian champions title.
Juve can still celebrate the title tomorrow, but they'll need Napoli to drop points against Chievo, which let's face it, it's not likely at all having in mind the current situation the Verona side is facing at the bottom of the table. On the other hand, today's win was particularly important for SPAL in their relegation battle, as it allowed them to move up further on the table and they are now 7 points clear from the relegation zone.
The home side secured today's win thanks to goals from Bonifazi and Floccari, while Juventus only managed to score once and unsurprisingly, it was Moise Kean who added his name to the scoresheet. The Italian sensation scored his 6th league goal in 8 appearances this season, but with around 304 minutes of playing time. That means that on average he has been scoring a goal every 50 minutes!
A deserved win for the hosts
With half of the team either resting or injured, it was never going to be an easy task to come out of the Paolo Mazza stadium with points. Cristiano Ronaldo, Mandzukic, Rugani, Pjanic, Douglas Costa and Matuidi were left at home, while Chiellini, Cáceres and Emre Can are recovering from injuries. Even though everyone wants to wrap up the Serie A title as soon as possible, the priority has definitely been on the UEFA Champions League for a few weeks/months now.
The opener was scored by Moise Kean still before the half-time break, in a play where the Italian forward showed his killer instinct by deflecting a João Cancelo shot from outside the box. Kean has now scored 8 goals in his last 8 appearances combined between Juventus and the Italian National Team. At this point and with 60 minutes still left to be played, there was a good chance the league race could end this Saturday. However, the hosts reacted well and would turn things around...
The equaliser was scored shortly after both sides had returned from the locker room and it all started in a corner-kick taken by Schiattarella. The cross from the right found Kevin Bonifazi rising high in the air and the Italian defender headed it in past Perin to make things even in Ferrara. It was a massive game for the hosts and you could tell it by the way you saw them celebrating their first goal. The second one arrived in the 74th minute, in a play where Juventus' lack of competitive aggressiveness was exposed and Sergio Floccari took advantage of it to beat Perin and put his side on the lead.
It's now time to switch the chip for Ajax!
Juventus line-up vs SPAL:
Goalkeeper: Perin
Defenders: De Sciglio, Iweru, Barzagli, Spinazzola, João Cancelo
Midfielders: Kastanos, Bentancur, Cuadrado
Attackers: Dybala, Keane
Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
|
||
|---|---|---|
SPAL
|
vs
|
Juventus
|
2 |
Goals |
1 |
16 |
Shots |
10 |
3 |
Shots on goal |
3 |
5 |
Corner kicks |
4 |
12 |
Fouls commited |
14 |
4 |
Yellow cards |
2 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
43% |
Ball possession |
57% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Juventus is for the UEFA Champions League on April 16 of 2019, against Ajax. You can watch Juventus vs Ajax, Leganes vs Real Madrid, Sevilla vs Betis, Manchester United vs West Ham, Leeds vs Sheffield Wednesday, and Borussia Dortmund vs FSV Mainz, all matches provided from our football and soccer game pages.
Juventus next game:
Juventus vs Ajax kick-off time (16-04-2019):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 03:00
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 02:00
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 00:30
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+2: 21:00
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 21:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 20:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 16:00
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 15:00
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 12:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / juventus.com / skysports.com / beinsports.com
