Juventus Turin beat Como 2-1 to record their second win in a row. Como failed to reward themselves for a good performance.
After losing 2-0 to Bologna, Como manager Cesc Fabregas made three changes to the starting lineup: Smolcic, Strefezza and da Cunha came in for Engelhardt, Caqueret and Fadera, who was serving a suspension.
Juventus Turin, on the other hand, started unchanged compared to the 4-1 win against Empoli. Despite the three points, the Serie A side, who are in sixth place, were under a lot of pressure: they urgently needed a win to stay in the running for a Champions League place.
Como started with a lot of pressure: in the twelfth minute, Strefezza left Savona standing on the right and passed the ball to Paz on the edge of the box, who took a shot straight away. Di Gregorio saved his team from going behind early on with a brilliant save.
Como equalizes before half-time
Juve then tried to take control of the game, but Thiago Motta’s team ultimately lacked the creativity to create chances. Instead, the home side earned another shot on goal through da Cunha – but di Gregorio was once again the end of the line (24′). Como took control of the game – but Juve struck coldly during their period of pressure: Kolo Muani received the ball and, after feinting, beat Dossena. He then finished clinically under the crossbar (34′).
However, Como were visibly unimpressed and simply picked up where they left off before conceding the goal. Before half-time, the hosts then earned an equalizer: the Old Lady’s back line was unsettled after a corner, allowing Diao to nod in at the far post to level the scores (45.+1). So it went into the break with the draw.
Late penalty wins the game
Como started energetically again – and should have taken the lead right away: Gatti made a bad decision in the air, Diao crossed to Paz, who, however, took too central a shot, allowing di Gregorio to save with his foot (47′). In the following minutes, the game slowed down a bit: both coaches started making changes, which disrupted the flow of the game.
It wasn’t until the 75th minute that Gonzalez made another impact, but his shot went wide. From that moment on, the game tilted in favor of the guests: Juve took control, but without being dangerous – until the 89th minute. A cross sailed into the home side’s box. Butez came off the line, intending to punch the ball out of the danger zone. However, the keeper only hit Gatti in the face. Referee Abisso had no hesitation in awarding the penalty, which Kolo Muani converted to win the game.
In the end, Juve won 2-1 against a combative Como. This move saw the Old Lady climb to fourth place and put the pressure on the competition for the Champions League places. The home side, on the other hand, remain in 15th place for now, but the promoted team can slip to 18th place if the competition wins.
Como will be next in action when they visit Fiorentina on Sunday at 12:30 p.m., while Juve will face Eindhoven in the first leg of the Champions League play-off at home on Tuesday.
