Cagliari thwarts Juventus with late penalty
Juventus was reduced to 10 men and conceded for the first time this season in Serie A as a late Razvan Marin penalty snatched a 1-1 draw for Cagliari.
Dusan Vlahovic put Juve ahead with a penalty of his own in the 15th minute Sebastiano Luperto, making his 150th appearance in Serie A, had been judged to have handled in the area after a VAR check.
Yet despite dominating the ball, with 73.7 per cent possession, Juve was unable to find a decisive second goal, with Vlahovic guilty of squandering a fantastic chance in the 79th minute.
It was made to pay when Marin converted from the spot after Douglas Luiz had fouled Roberto Piccoli to concede the penalty.
Juve's frustration was compounded when Francisco Conceicao picked up his second yellow card in the 89th minute, with the post then denying Adam Obert a last-gasp winner for Cagliari.
Juventus boss Thiago Motta was left frustrated with his side's inability to make its dominance count.
"Already in the first half, after the goal, we were content to control the game. It's no good," Motta said.
"We have to keep attacking. In the second half, we created chances but we didn't exploit them. There was always the feeling that Cagliari could come back into the game.
"In Serie A, all games are complicated, regardless of who we face and whether we play at home or away. Today we left room for Cagliari to get back into the game."
Vlahovic may have converted the penalty but was also guilty of missing an excellent chance to extend Juve's lead when he fired wide on the rebound from close range.
Motta refused to point the finger at Vlahovic, but insisted improvements are needed.
"You can't say anything, it's a match situation. It happens and will happen," Motta said. "But there are other things that we can certainly do better in order to compete, to be able to continue to grow."
Francisco Conceicao made his first start of the season against Cagliari, but the Portugal winger was sent off late in the game when he received a second booking for simulation in the penalty area.
"I haven't seen the images, if it's simulation, it's the correct decision. It's something we've been talking about for a long time, simulations are not good for the game," Motta added.
"I trust the referee, but now a precedent opens up and it must always be like this. It must always be done, not every now and then."
