Bologna earned a point against Juve thanks to a spirited performance and may have shattered the Turin Scudetto dreams. Juve benefited from two sending-offs for their opponents in this match.
Despite being six points behind, the dream of the Scudetto has certainly not been secretly shelved in Turin, even though it is clear to everyone that with six matchdays to go, no further slip-ups are possible. Juve started the home match against Bologna with a correspondingly high level of pressure, wanted to take the lead early and fired the first warning shots via Dybala (5th), Vlahovic (12th) and Dybala again (16th).
Bologna and Arnautovic, however, were well prepared for the Old Lady. The visitors were virtually ineffective offensively, but defensively they were excellent. There were hardly any spaces for Juve, so that the Turin team struggled despite having a lot of possession and did not really have any good finishes. It was no surprise, then, that they went into the break with a tired 0-0 draw.
It was a classic game of patience that took a very bad turn for the record champions after the break: In the 52nd minute, Arnautovic was quick on his feet, made a great run into the lane for a through pass, got round Szczesny and slotted home for 1:0 – the icing on the cake of a superb performance by the Austrian up to that point.
VAR, then Soumaoro and Medel
Juve’s response to the deficit was furious attacks and missed chances (De Sciglio, 55th; Danilo, 57th). For Bologna, however, everything went according to plan, but not so for Arnautovic. The 32-year-old suddenly felt a twinge in his back, which is why he had to come off early (65th). This did not change the course of the game: Torino pressed, Bologna defended skilfully and waited for counterattacks.
It got wild in the final phase, when Vlahovic sent Morata on his way with a great pass, Soumaoro took him off his feet and Cuadrado hit the right crossbar (82nd). The VAR intervened and referee Juan Luca Sacchi showed Soumaoro the red card for an emergency stop. Medel was so incensed by the decision that he was shown two yellows within seconds of being sent off for mouthing off.
With two men more, Juve broke the deadlock in the closing stages – and were rewarded: a corner from the left found Morata at the left corner of the box, who beautifully back-heeled the ball into the far corner. Vlahovic pushed the ball over the line from the shortest distance to make it 1-1 (90.+5).