April 16, (THEWILL) – On Saturday, a 95th-minute equaliser saved Juventus from dropping all three points and avoiding embarrassment against a nine-man Bologna side at home.
The visitors had seized the lead through Marko Arnautovic at the start of the second half, but two men were sent off in a dramatic VAR incident in the 81st minute. In the dying stages of the game, however, Dusan Vlahovic salvaged a point for Juventus with a header.
Juventus’ front three got off to a strong start, with two of them almost combining to give the hosts the lead inside the first ten minutes. Alvaro Morata curled a lovely cross into the near post area, but Vlahovic’s goal-bound header sailed just over the crossbar.
Paulo Dybala, the other member of the three and an Inter target, came close with a free kick four minutes later. From 25 yards out, the forward looped the ball over the wall and just shy of the top right corner of the net.
Juve’s control dwindled after that Dybala attempt, as they struggled to break down a resolute Bologna defence. Between the 15th and 45th minutes, Danilo’s long-range sighter was the lone meaningful effort on goal as a summary of how poor their finishing was.
La Vecchia Signora had a similar lack of enthusiasm at the start of the second half, and almost succumbed in the 47th minute. Arnautovic made a fantastic turn in the penalty area, but his resulting attempt on goal flew just wide of the post.
Juve seemed to wake up after Arnautovic’s effort, with the home side producing their greatest chance of the game just moments later. Adrien Rabiot had the chance, but he was unable to convert a Luca Pellegrini cross from about two yards out with the goal open.
In the 52nd minute, Juve were forced to regret that lost opportunity, as Arnautovic scored his 12th goal of the season to give the visitors a shock lead. The former West Ham midfielder got in behind the Juventus defence to latch on to a through ball before turning Wojciech Szczesny and side-footing home the opening goal.
After falling behind, the hosts rushed forward with newfound vigour, with a Danilo header from a corner kick unexpectedly missing the net after striking the inside of the left post.
After a few substitutions, though, that intent seemed to fade for a full 20 minutes, as Bologna were able to regain a foothold and fend off Juve with reasonable ease.
Then, in the 80th minute, all hell broke loose. After being sent through on goal, Morata was brought down just outside the penalty area before he could score. The referee chose to continue the game, allowing Juan Cuadrado to take a shot on an empty net, which he missed.
After a brief discussion on the touchline with VAR, the referee awarded Juventus a free kick on the edge of the box, sent off Adama Soumaoro for his challenge on Morata, and dismissed Gary Medel for his protests.
Vlahovic hit the crossbar with the subsequent free kick. However, the striker finally equalised for Juventus in the 95th minute. By sneaking in at the back post and heading home an overhead kick from Morata, the ex-Fiorentina star spared Juve’s blushes.
Juventus will return to action in midweek, hosting Fiorentina in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final tie and hope to play better. On Monday, April 25, they returned to Serie A against Sassuolo. Bologna will have an eight-day break before hosting Udinese at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
