SportsCrotone Hold Italian Giants To A 1 - 1 Draw as Nigerian...

Crotone Hold Italian Giants To A 1 – 1 Draw as Nigerian Simy Scores

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SAN FRANCISCO, October 18, (THEWILL) – Federico Chiesa, Italian centre forward, was sent off on his debut as the Serie A champions Juventus minus Cristiano Ronaldo drew 1-1 with Serie A new boys Crotone on Saturday.

In the absence of the talismanic Ronaldo, who remains in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 while on international duty with Portugal, Juve were lacklustre at the Stadio Ezio Scida.

New signing Alvaro Morata’s first goal since rejoining the club on loan from Atletico Madrid levelled out the scores after Crotone’s Nigerian Simy’s early penalty for the hosts. The hopes of the champions to go on and claim all three points were hampered with 30 minutes remaining when Chiesa, who joined on loan from Fiorentina on transfer deadline day, received a straight red card.

Juve must have thought they had won it late on thanks to a close-range finish from Morata but the striker was deemed to be offside after a lengthy VAR review and denied his brace.

Crotone started brightly with a spring in their step. They were rewarded just 11 minutes in when Simy stroked home from the penalty spot after Leonardo Bonucci had been adjudged to have fouled the Pole Arkadiusz Reca inside the area.

It took only nine minutes for Juve to bounce back when Morata slid home from four yards after being picked out by Chiesa.

Manolo Portanova, Italian centre attacking midfielder making his first appearance since May 2019, was denied by Crotone’s keeper Alex Cordaz at his near post shortly before the interval, while at the other end Buffon, in his 650th Serie A appearance, denied Pedro Pereira.

Just after the restart, Rodrigo Bentancur flashed an effort wide before Luca Cigarini whipped wide of Buffon’s left-hand post from what was a promising position on the edge of the area.

Chiesa then saw red, at the stroke of the hour, for a late challenge on Cigarini, although Andrea Pirlo’s men almost stole ahead soon after when Morata flicked a header onto the post.

The Spain striker was denied a second inside the closing 15 minutes, with a VAR review showing that he was marginally offside when he turned home Juan Cuadrado’s low ball into the area.

A point moves Juve up to fourth, four points behind leaders Milan, while Crotone are off the bottom after picking up their first point of the season.

Crotone were good value for a point. They reduced their more illustrious opponents to just two shots on target – a statistic it is not hard to imagine would have been significantly higher had Ronaldo been available. Although Morata did his best to cover for Ronaldo’s absence, opening his account in his second spell at the club, hitting the post with a deft header and coming agonisingly close to grabbing a late winner.

Juve start their Champions League campaign with a trip to Dynamo Kiev in Group G on Tuesday before hosting Hellas Verona in Serie A on Sunday – the same day Crotone travel to Cagliari.

About the Author

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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

Jude Obafemi, THEWILLhttps://thewillnews.com
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

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