Published: 09:09, October 7, 2024
10-man Juventus held by Cagliari in Serie A
By Xinhua
Juventus’ Brazilian midfielder #26 Douglas Luiz (left) jumps for the ball with Cagliari’s Italian midfielder #14 Alessandro Deiola during the Italian Serie A football match between Juventus and Cagliari at the Allianz stadium in Turin on Oct 6, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

ROME - Juventus conceded for the first time in the new Serie A season, as they were held by Cagliari to 1-1 at Allianz Stadium on Sunday, with winger Francisco Conceicao being sent off.

Having not conceded a goal since the start of the league season, Juve had to revamp their defense on Sunday after Gleison Bremer suffered a serious injury, with Pierre Kalulu partnering Federico Gatti at center-back.

Juve were aggressive from the beginning and won a penalty in the 15th minute when Gatti's header struck Sebastiano Luperto hand.

Dusan Vlahovic stepped up to convert the spot-kick, before the Serbian celebrated the goal by holding up Bremer's jersey.

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The home side should have added another seconds later, but Teun Koopmeiners opted for a shot rather than pass to a better-positioned Samuel Mbangula.

Juventus’ Portuguese forward #07 Francisco Conceicao (left) fights for the ball with Cagliari’s Slovak defender #33 Adam Obert during the Italian Serie A football match between Juventus and Cagliari at the Allianz stadium in Turin on Oct 6, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

The Bianconeri continued the pressure by creating a lot of chances, as Vlahovic wasted a golden opportunity by turning a rebound wide when facing an empty net in the 78th minute.

Cagliari punished Juve in the 88th minute when Douglas Luiz fouled Roberto Piccoli inside the box, and the referee awarded a penalty after a VAR review, which Razvan Marin coolly converted.

Juve's situation went from bad to worse one minute later when Conceicao received his second yellow card for diving.

With one player down, the Old Lady were lucky to survive a scare as Adam Obert's strike thumped the upright.

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With the draw, Juve still rank third in the table, but will drop to fourth if AC Milan beat Fiorentina later on Sunday.