On Saturday, Venezia hosted Juventus at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium for the 17th matchday of the Serie A season.
All seemed well for the Bianconeri who took a deserved first half lead, but it was a story of two halves, as the hosts bounced back with a back second period performance and came out with a 1-1 draw.
Max Allegri maintained his 4-2-3-1 lineup. Alvaro Morata led the charge supported by Paulo Dybala, Juan Cuadrado and Federico Bernardeschi, while Manuel Locatelli and Adrien Rabiot operated in the double pivot.
Wojiech Szczesny returned to goal, while the back four was made up of Mattia De Sciglio, Leonardo Bonucci, Matthijs de Ligt and Luca Pellegrini.
The Bianconeri dominated possession from the get-go, but without creating too many chances.
Unfortunately for Juve, Dybala had to leave the pitch as early as the 12 minute after sustaining yet another injury, leaving his place for Kaio Jorge. We can only hope that it won’t result in a long layoff.
The Old Lady’s tempo slew down a bit following the Argentine’s exit, but Pellegrini’s runs from the left became the main source of danger for the visitors.
After being denied by Sergio Romero on the first occasion, Morata broke the deadlock after flicking a cross from Pellegrini towards goal. VAR had a look at a possible handball on Bernardeschi prior to the goal, but it eventually stood.
Before the end of the first half, Locatelli stole the ball in the middle of the park and launched a counter attack, but Cuadrado’s shot whistled past the far post, as the Bianconeri headed towards the locker rooms with a slight 1-0 lead.
It all changed after the break, with the home side pressing for an equalizer, and eventually getting their wish thanks to a well-taken shot from Mattia Aramu at the 55 minute.
The Lagunari didn’t stop there, and kept pushing for a second goal, but Pellegrini made a crucial interception to deny them.
Despite having more than half an hour to grab a winner, Juventus only managed to threaten Venezia’s goal on one occasion, but Bernardeschi’s volley was superbly denied by Romero.
At the end of the day, Allegri’s uninspiring men got can have no complaints, as they head back to Turin with only point point in the bag and many regrets.
Juventus XI (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; De Sciglio, Bonucci, de Ligt, Pellegrini (Alex Sandro 77′); Locatelli (Soulé 86′), Rabiot; Cuadrado, Dybala (Kaio Jorge 12′, Kean 77′), Bernardeschi (Bentancur 77′); Morata
Goals: Morata 32′ (J), Aramu 55′ (V)
