After suffering a pair of injuries and going behind inside 30 minutes of their midweek UEFA Champions League game, the early stages couldn’t possibly have been as bad. It proved to be that way too, as a fast start earned the hosts an early lead. There was an element of fortune in how that came about as they were handed a penalty after Sebastiano Luperto was adjudged to have handled in the area.
Dusan Vlahovic didn’t mind though, stepping forward from 12 yards to stroke into the corner. Juventus were dominant throughout the entire first half, and they ought to have had more than a goal advantage to show for it before half-time.
Cagliari had Simone Scuffet to thank for that not being the case, as he produced a stunning stop to deny Teun Koopmeiners a first goal of the season.
The opening stages of the second half followed a similar pattern, with Juventus firmly in the ascendancy. The Old Lady almost made that pressure pay off, but Nicolo Fagioli’s volleyed effort from the edge of the area whistled inches wide of the post.
Cagliari needed to find something special to claw their way back into the game, and with them showing little sign of finding that, Juventus were keen to lay the game to rest. Vlahović was substituted at the break in Juve’s last home league game, but he was still on the pitch in the closing stages here, almost wrapping up the points 20 minutes from time when his thunderous volley forced a smart stop out of Scuffet.
Vlahovic was proving a difficult man for Cagliari to pin down, and he ought to have wrapped up a third successive brace a little over 10 minutes from time. Incredibly though, after Scuffet parried Douglas Luiz’s effort perfectly into his path, he fired wide from a matter of yards with the goal at his mercy.
That miss proved to be costly when Luiz’s wild challenge on Roberto Piccoli in the area handed Cagliari a penalty, and with their first clear sighting of goal in the entire game, Razvan Marin fired home an equaliser against the run of play.
Such was the desperation of the hosts to find a late winner, they were reduced to 10 men when Francisco Conceicao received a second yellow card for simulation inside the area.
Despite some forlorn late attempts to find a winner, Juventus were ultimately unsuccessful and forced to settle for a point which does little to help their title aspirations. The draw certainly suits Cagliari more, although they do remain with just a single league win this season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Simone Scuffet (Cagliari)
