Andrea Belotti canceled out Matthijs de Ligt’s early opener to deny Juventus a victory in the Turin derby.
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Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw by Torino in the Serie A fixture at Allianz Stadium on Friday. Andrea Belotti canceled out Matthijs de Ligt’s early opener to deny Juventus a victory in the Turin derby. The Bianconeri came into the match high on confidence, having extended their unbeaten run to 11 games after the 1-1 draw against Atalanta last week. And, with the arrival of striker Dusan Vlahovic in the January transfer window, Massimiliano Allegri’s side were looking much more threatening in the attacking department.
FT | All’Allianz Stadium finisce in parità.
Belotti ha risposto a @mdeligt_04. #JuveToro [1-1] #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/O1fhtYU1lj— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) February 18, 2022
Allegri’s side needed a win to consolidate their fourth spot, with fifth-placed Atalanta just two points behind coming into the weekend. Meanwhile Torino had picked up just one point from their last three league games.
Torino started the match on the driving seat as Rolando Mandragora exchanged passes with Josip Berkalo and Mergim Vijvoda down the left flank before getting inside the box, but his venom-less shot was comfortably saved by Juve keeper Wojciech Szczesny at the near post.
Denis Zakaria played a nice through ball to release Adrien Rabiot down the left, the Frenchman dribbled forward before firing his shot just wide of the goal. Juve took the lead through De Ligt in the 13th minute. The Dutchman headed home from Juan Cuadrado’s deep cross, putting the Bianconeri 1-0 up.
Allegri’s side slowly settled in as the game progressed while Torino’s attempts lacked venom as the first half developed. Mattia De Sciglio replaced Luca Pellegrini at half-time as the Italian defender suffered a knee injury during the final stages of the opening half.
The second half started the same way as the first, with the visitors pushing hard for a goal but the Juve defence stood firm. Szczesny finger-tipped Mandragora’s effort over the bar before Cuadrado side-netted at the other end. Paulo Dybala was brought off in the 54th minute after asking for a substitution, seemingly suffering an injury.
The visitors finally got the equaliser in the 62nd minute, when Brekalo’s cut back was slotted home by Belotti with a first-time stumbling volley from in front of the goal, sending the visiting Torino fans wild.
Both sides pushed for the winner but neither managed to find their second as they lacked quality in the final third. Overall it was a cagey affair as both sides looked a bit rusty and everything ended all square in Turin.
It was a frustrating result for Allegri’s side as they are now just three points away from fifth placed Atalanta, who have played two games less and have a chance to level the points when they take on Fiorentina on Sunday.
