Juve unbeaten run ends in Genova

Genoa’s substitutions proved decisive as Stefano Sturaro and Goran Pandev found the back of the net in the second half, while Paulo Dybala had a goal ruled out by VAR.

It was a very cagey affair from the get-go, with both teams putting in some physical challenges that saw both Romero and Alex Sandro go into the referee’s book inside the opening five minutes of the game.

Mattia Perin brilliantly marked his return to Marassi by pulling off a stunning save to deny Sanabria from close-range, after he received a laid-off ball from Kouame inside the box on the 16-minute mark.

VAR RULES TWICE

On the stroke of the half hour mark, the referee initially pointed to the spot to hand Genoa a penalty for a handball inside the box on Cancelo, but after consulting VAR he deemed it an unintentional handball and withdrew his decision.

The remainder of the half saw little action take place in front of either goal, with the game predominantly being bogged down in midfield.

After the break, Mario Mandzukic called for a penalty after he was seemingly brought down in the box, but the referee waved away any form of appeals. Paulo Dybala thought he had eventually broken in the 56th minute when he slotted the ball into the net after a Cancelo cross, only for VAR to rule it out for offside.

GENOA STRIKES

Massimiliano Allegri then opted for a change by introducing Tuesday’s double-assist provider Federico Bernardeschi in place of Cancelo. Cesare Prandelli then opted to bring on former Juventus midfielder Sturaro in the 70th minute, and he made an immediate impact when he fired in an effort that bounced in front of Perin and into the goal to make it 1-0.

Moise Kean, who scored a brace last week against Udinese, was introduced into the fold in place of Mandzukic in the 73rd minute. Kouame, who had been dictating play for Genoa throughout the match, went on a brilliant 20-yard run before feeding the ball to Goran Pandev, who was on the edge of the box. The striker had no second thoughts about it and he fired in a solid finish to double Genoa’s lead, and secure three points for the hosts with five minutes to go before the final whistle.

Juventus XI: Perin; Rugani, Bonucci, Caceres; Alex Sandro, Bentancur (Spinazzola 76’), Pjanic, Emre Can, Joao Cancelo (Bernardeschi 60’); Mandzukic (Kean 73’), Dybala

Substitutions: Szczesny, Pinsoglio, Chiellini, Spinazzola, Matuidi, Nicolussi Caviglia, Kean, Bernardeschi, Moreno

Genoa XI: Radu; Pereira, Romero, Zukanovic, Criscito; Lazovic (Sturaro 70’), Radovanovic, Rolon, Lerager; Sanabria (Pandev 60’), Kouame

Substitutions: Marchetto, Jandrei, Gunter, Lapadula, Pezzella, Biraschi, Mazzitelli, Pandev, Bessa, Dalmonte, Sturaro, Veloso

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