Juventus 2-0 Cremonese: Bianconeri close in on top-four finish despite Pogba blow

By Sports Desk May 14, 2023

Juventus moved to the brink of Champions League qualification with a 2-0 Serie A win over Cremonese on Sunday, though their victory was marred by another injury suffered by Paul Pogba.

With one eye on Thursday's decisive Europa League semi-final clash with Sevilla, Massimiliano Allegri made seven changes to his line-up, handing Pogba his first Serie A start since returning to Turin.

Pogba's outing lasted just 24 minutes as he was substituted in tears after appearing to suffer a thigh injury, and though his withdrawal initially affected Juve, fellow midfielder Nicolo Fagioli broke Cremonese's resistance with a powerful drive after half-time.

Bremer headed a late second as Juve went eight points clear of fifth-placed Milan with three games remaining, leaving them favoured for a top-four finish, provided their 15-point deduction is not restored.

Juve struggled to break Cremonese down in a low-key opening, and they suffered a huge blow when Pogba pulled up innocuously, before exiting the field visibly upset seven years to the day after his last Serie A start.

Danilo was unable to convert the rebound when Marco Carnesecchi spilt Bremer's header 32 minutes in, and that was as close as the Bianconeri came before being booed off at half-time.

Federico Chiesa blazed over the crossbar as Juve sought an improvement after the break, while Adrien Rabiot forced Carnesecchi into action with a powerful 25-yard strike.

Chiesa turned provider as Juve broke the deadlock after 55 minutes, though Fagioli was deserving of all the credit as he hammered the winger's lay-off into the roof of the net from 20 yards out.

A VAR review denied Juve a second goal when Arkadiusz Milik converted with 16 minutes remaining, but the contest was over five minutes later when Bremer reacted quickest to nod in following a corner.

 

What does it mean? Juve edge towards finish line

Juve's hopes of Champions League qualification have been under threat on several occasions this season, including when they were hit with a 15-point deduction in January, and more recently when they ended April with a four-match winless run in Serie A (D1 L3).

However, Allegri's men have hit form just as their rivals have faltered, winning three successive games to move well clear of Milan.

Off-field matters could yet have an impact, but on the pitch, Juve know any further slip-ups from the Rossoneri will confirm their place in the top four.

Pogba woes continue

Pogba returned to Turin from Manchester United with much fanfare last year, but it's fair to say his Juve comeback has not been successful. 

Beset by injuries since pre-season, Pogba has made just six league appearances this campaign, featuring for a total of 84 minutes.

Fagioli steps up

Following Pogba's withdrawal, Juve needed somebody to step up and provide some attacking inspiration.

Fagioli, who spent a period in Cremonese's youth system and enjoyed a loan spell with the club last season, did just that. 

Following his thunderous strike, he is one of just two midfielders born this century to score three goals and register three assists in Serie A this term, alongside Udinese's Lazar Samardzic.

What's next? 

It's all to play for as Juventus head to Sevilla for the second leg of their Europa League semi-final tie on Thursday, following a 1-1 first-leg draw.

Related items

  • Croatia 2-1 Scotland: Kramaric rounds off comeback as visitors denied by late drama Croatia 2-1 Scotland: Kramaric rounds off comeback as visitors denied by late drama

    Andrej Kramaric's 70th-minute header was enough for Croatia to clinch a 2-1 victory over Scotland, with the visitors denied a last-gasp equaliser.

    The forward completed the comeback after Igor Matanovic cancelled out Ryan Christie's opener, but Kristijan Jakic's blushes were spared as his last-second own goal was disallowed for an offside against Che Adams.

    In a fairly even first half, Christie got the breakthrough, latching onto Luka Sucic's sliced attempted clearance, and bundling the ball over the line with help from Duje Caleta-Car.

    However, just under four minutes later, Croatia were back on level terms as Ivan Perisic cushioned the ball to Matanovic, who drilled his low shot into the bottom-right corner.

    The hosts upped the pressure after the break, and Sucic thought he had given them the lead, only to have his goal chalked off for a foul in the build-up.

    And they got their reward when Craig Gordon pushed away Borna Sosa's volley, with Kramaric on hand to nod it in from close range when it looped into the air.

    Adams had already sent a looping effort wide of the far post in his search for an equaliser and thought he had finally got it after pressuring Jakic into poking it over the line. However, he had done so from an offside position so VAR ruled it out, and Scotland were denied a first point this Nations League campaign.  

    Data Debrief: Scotland suffer more late heartbreak

    Late drama seems to follow Scotland everywhere in this competition at the moment - they lost their first two games in the competition due to late goals despite putting up a fight.

    As such, Scotland extended their longest winless run in competitive matches in their history (P9 D3 L6), while they have now lost four consecutive games for the first time in five years, last doing so in October 2019.

    The match-winner, Kramaric, scored his 30th goal for Croatia on his 99th appearance, with more than half of these (16) coming since he turned 30, while he has scored twice as many goals (eight) than any other Croatian player since the start of 2023.

  • 'It certainly doesn't help' - Eidevall fails to concede Arsenal title hopes after Chelsea loss 'It certainly doesn't help' - Eidevall fails to concede Arsenal title hopes after Chelsea loss

    Jonas Eidevall failed to concede Arsenal's hopes of winning the Women's Super League title after falling to a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at the Emirates on Saturday. 

    The defeat leaves Arsenal in sixth place in the early-season standings having taken just five points from their opening four games of the season. 

    Mayra Ramirez and Sandy Baltimore handed the visitors a two-goal advantage early on, with Caitlin Foord's fine individual effort before half-time proving to be just a consolation. 

    It brought an end to a dismal week for Eidevall, having watched his side lose their Champions League opener 5-2 to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

    "It certainly doesn't help, but as I said before, the only way is to go game by game," Eidevall said on his side's hopes of winning the title after their poor start to the campaign. 

    "We are disappointed with the result and the start today, but I am very proud of the heart that the players showed."

    But following Chelsea's first two goals, it was Arsenal who were in the ascendency, creating the better of the chances in north London but failing to make them count. 

    The Gunners registered 20 attempts during the contest, but only four of which were on target, rarely troubling visiting goalkeeper Hannah Hampton for the most part. 

    Though Arsenal find themselves already four points behind the early-season pacesetters, Eidevall still believes he is still the right man to lead the Gunners forward. 

    "I gave my absolute everything. You can see that the players certainly gave everything on the pitch too, and that is the thing you can control," Eidevall said. 

    "I think the way that the players played with the heart on the pitch, I can't ask for anything more," he added when asked if he had the backing of his players. 

    "It showed in the way that they played that they were giving their absolute everything on the pitch."

    Chelsea, meanwhile, continued their fine start under Sonia Bompastor, building on their impressive win against Real Madrid in midweek with a triumph over their fierce rivals. 

    But it was anything but comfortable for the Blues, who managed an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.35 from their efforts during the second half. 

    "For sure it was a tough game, we were expecting that. It's always good to win, three points are three points," Bompastor said.

    "But I wish my team were able to play the ball better in the second half. The quality of the players we have, we should be able to produce more.

    "Good moments, we need to enjoy them and have fun."

  • Ederson lauds 'sometimes annoying' Guardiola Ederson lauds 'sometimes annoying' Guardiola

    Ederson says it is an honour to be a part of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, though admitted the manager can be "sometimes annoying".

    The goalkeeper joined City in June 2017 and has since kept 113 clean sheets in 257 Premier League appearances, more than any other goalkeeper in the competition since his debut.

    He has won 15 major trophies with City, including six Premier Leagues, two FA Cups and a Champions League title, as well as the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup under Guardiola. 

    While on international duty with Brazil, Ederson attended an event for Children's Day and was asked if Guardiola was nice, annoying or angry by one child.

    "You're going to get me in trouble," Ederson told ESPN Brasil. "He's all three.

    "He's a nice guy, he's sometimes annoying, in the sense of [being] demanding, because he has to [be] demanding to a professional [player], and he's also angry when he has to be angry.

    "So he has a mixture of all three. But he's a nice guy off the pitch, and he's a very, very demanding guy on it. And he's also a guy who gets angry like any other person, like any other coach, when things don't go well or when the team doesn't play well.

    "Of course, we know that we're not going to be able to play 70 games at a brilliant level. Of course, in one game or another, there's going to be a dip."

    Under Guardiola, City became the only English club in history to hold all five trophies – Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Super Cup and Club World Cup – in a calendar year (in 2023).

    In the English top-flight, Guardiola has overseen 311 games since July 2016, winning 230 of those (D43 L38). He has a 73.95% win percentage in the competition and averages 2.36 points per game.

    And Ederson believes the Spaniard, who has been named the Premier League manager of the season five times, has changed football in the competition.

    "I've been able to play a big part in the project," he said. "You take everything Guardiola has built up with the group, with the squad and everything he's been able to reformulate practically.

    "You see every Premier League game today, how the teams try to play more football, have more possession. It's completely different from when he arrived.

    "So to be able to be part of this project and achieve everything I've achieved, I feel very honoured, it really is a childhood dream."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.