Cagliari denied host Juventus the opportunity to reclaim second place from defending champions Inter Milan by forcing a 1-1 draw on Sunday in matchday seven of Serie A.
Juventus seemed on their way to securing a second consecutive victory and their third in all competitions by taking the lead thanks to their Serbian international top scorer, Dusan Vlahovic (15th, penalty). However, Cagliari equalized just two minutes before the end of regulation time, also from the penalty spot, scored by Romanian Razvan Marin (88th, penalty).
It is Juventus’ fourth draw of the season, taking their points tally to 13 and temporarily dropping them to third place due to goal difference behind Udinese, who beat Lecce 1-0 on Saturday , and two points behind Milan, who will later host Fiorentina, with three points ahead of Empoli, who will also host Lazio later.
Inter temporarily secured second place by beating their hosts, Torino, 3-2 on Saturday. Meanwhile, Cagliari refused to fall into a spiral of defeats after securing their first win of the season by beating hosts Parma 3-2 at the end of matchday six, earning a valuable point which took their tally to six points and temporarily elevated them to fifteenth place, pending Parma’s (5 points) match against hosts Bologna later.
Juventus came into the match euphoric after their hard-fought 3-2 win with ten men against German hosts Leipzig on Matchday 2 of the Champions League last Wednesday, and they put heavy pressure on Cagliari’s goal, winning a penalty awarded after an intervention by the video assistant (VAR) due to a handball from defender Sebastiano Luberto, following a header from defender Federico Gatti from close range. Following a corner from their top scorer, Dutch international Teon Koopmeiners, Vlahovic fired a powerful left-footed shot from the left, deceiving goalkeeper Simone Scovit (15th).
It was Vlahovic’s fifth league goal after two braces against Hellas Verona (3-0) on the second day and Genoa (also 3-0) on the sixth, placing him second in the scorers’ standings, just two units from leaders Matteo Retegui (Atalanta) and Frenchman Marcus Thuram (Inter).
Juventus, the only team besides Empoli to remain undefeated this season, continued to dominate, and Koopmeiners nearly extended the lead with a powerful shot from outside the box that sailed just over the crossbar (17th ).
Goalkeeper Scovit preserved his net for a second goal by blocking a powerful attempt from Portuguese international Francisco Conceicao (20th), then continued his show by diverting a strong shot from Koopmeiners from inside the area towards the corner (26th).
Juventus maintained their superiority in the second half, with Scovit preventing a goal by blocking a powerful shot from Vlahovic inside the area before the defense cleared (71st).
Surprisingly, Vlahovic wasted a golden opportunity when a rebound from the goalkeeper fell to him after a powerful shot from substitute Brazilian winger Douglas Luiz, shooting close to the right post (78th).
Like Juventus, Cagliari were awarded a penalty after VAR review when Roberto Piccoli was obstructed by Luiz inside the box, allowing Marin to fire a powerful right-footed shot into the right corner, beyond goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio (88th).
Juventus suffered a second blow when their striker, Conceicao, was sent off with a second yellow card after deliberately falling inside the area (89th).
The right post denied Cagliari the winning goal when he deflected a powerful shot from their Slovak defender Adam Obert (90+6). Later, Monza will also play in Rome.
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