Dominating their rival in the second half, but denied in front of goal, Juventus left crucial points again this Saturday at home against a rival that, although inferior, is Genoa. (0-0), knew how to resist Vlahovic’s attacks with effort, supported by a great Josep Martínez between the posts to extend the bad streak of the Turin team who, after hitting the post twice, are now in danger of moving away from second place.
Retegui, Genoa’s scorer, had a clash with Danilo, Juventus captain. Getty Images
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Victory at home was an obligation for ‘Juve’which came into the duel with only one victory in the last six games, but neither the overwhelming dominance in the second act nor Vlahovic’s shots were enough to knock down a Genoa that has proven to be one of the most difficult teams in the season during the season. beat for the upper part of the table.
Because the crisis of results that the team led by Massimiliano Allegri is going through was added to a defensive approach by the perfect Genoa. They left no gaps, they barely made any mistakes in tilts and they made it uncomfortable for Vlahovic, even when he finished, to make it uncomfortable. The fight for relegation tightens and Gilardino’s team, which is relatively safe with 10 rounds remaining, did not want to miss the opportunity to profit against a team in crisis.
And he got it. Only 2 headers by Vlahovic and two shots at the post, those of Iling Junior and Moise Kean, put Josep Martínez in trouble between the posts. ‘Juve’ had the ball, possession, but was unable to deactivate the rival defensive network, led by Johan Vásquez, with slow, predictable and unhelpful circulation. The lateral centers were once again the solution, very recurrent in recent weeks due to the lack of spark in the last meters.
Not even Chiesawhich was giving its best version at the end of 2023, appeared to make that last pass, that last dribble that ‘Juve’ needed in such a close match.
But there was no way for the ‘Vecchia Signora’ to find the goal and, in the process, the victory. She was frustrated, as Vlahovic ended up, sent off for receiving two yellow cards in just 30 seconds due to protests to the referee, who called out a foul on the Genoa goalkeeper that the Serbian considered unfair.
Without their star striker on the green for the last 2 minutes, Juventus’ chances of scoring a goal were reduced to ashes. The goalless draw remained on the scoreboard and ‘Juve’ runs the risk of placing third, 3 points behind Milan. Genoa, for its part, added a very important point to definitively move away from a relegation that is already 10 points away.