Juve leave it late to beat Cremonese, Monza hold Fiorentina
Cremonese 0 Juventus 1
Arkadiusz Milik earned Juventus a seventh consecutive league victory, as the Old Lady battled past relegation-threatened Cremonese to consolidate their place in the Serie A top-four.
Coming into the contest still searching for their first league victory of the campaign, the hosts started positively with plenty of possession inside the Juventus half.
However, the Old Lady gradually grew into the match and came close to breaking the deadlock in a cagey opening half-hour, when Fabio Miretti curled a long-range strike narrowly over the bar.
Despite a distinct lack of cutting edge in the final third, both sides continued to probe for a breakthrough before the break.
The best opportunity fell to Juventus’ Filip Kostic, who fired a blistering effort inches wide of the far post, with Marco Carnesecchi well beaten in the Cremonese goal.
Massimiliano Allegri turned to his substitutes bench early in the second half, introducing both Federico Chiesa and Moise Kean.
The positive changes almost had an immediate effect, with Juventus twice coming close before the hour mark. First, Miretti had a close-range effort palmed away by Carnesecchi, before Federico Gatti drilled a first-time strike wastefully wide of the target.
Despite the growing pressure from the visitors, Cremonese came agonisingly close to taking a shock lead with 20 minutes remaining, as Cyriel Dessers raced clear and struck the post with an angled effort.
This narrow escape gave Juventus renewed energy going into the final 10 minutes, and after Carnesecchi denied Kean with a remarkable point-blank save, Milik stepped up to fire home a brilliant free-kick, breaking Cremonese hearts and resistance in the final minutes.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Marco Carnesecchi (Cremonese)
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Fiorentina 1 Monza 1
Fiorentina were held to a 1-1 draw at the Artemio Franchi Stadium by Monza on their return to Serie A action following the break for the FIFA World Cup.
Prior to kick-off, Fiorentina had scored 22% (four) of their 18 league goals in the first 15 minutes of matches.
Here, they missed out on adding to that number by just four minutes as Arthur Cabral gave La Viola the lead with a stunning strike, firing with venom past Michele Di Gregorio from the right-hand side of the penalty area.
By that point, the hosts had already struck the post through Cristiano Biraghi, and had further chances from Alessandro Bianco, who was making his first appearance in the Italian top flight, and Cabral as they looked to extend their advantage.
Monza, meanwhile, were barely in the first half and appeared unable to deal with their opponents.
However, Andrea Colpani wasted a great chance to equalise, shooting over on the stretch from close range, with that effort a reminder to Fiorentina that they could not afford to relax despite being the ascendancy.
Ultimately, they were made to pay for not widening their lead. Fiorentina started the second period much like they ended the first, but Monza, having made two attacking changes at the interval, grew more and more into the game as it progressed.
By the time star man Carlos Augusto volleyed Patrick Ciurria’s cross beyond Di Gregorio with aplomb, they had arguably shown enough to deserve an equaliser
As the game edged ever closer towards its climax, the home side continued to lose their superiority and, if anything, their opponents looked more likely to pick up all three points.
They really should have completed their comeback with 15 minutes remaining, when Pietro Terracciano saved Dany Mota’s effort before substitute Andrea Petagna somehow blasted the rebound over the bar.
Fiorentina did then respond with a chance of their own, but Di Gregorio was equal to Lucas Martínez Quatra’s creative header.
In the end, the two teams could not be separated, which meant Monza clinched their first point of the campaign after going behind. The Biancorossi remain in 15th as a result, while Fiorentina stay in 10th.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Arthur Cabral (Fiorentina)
