Juventus 1 Genoa 1: Champion's winning run ends despite record Ronaldo goal

Champions Juventus failed to win a Serie A match for the first time this season, with Genoa claiming a deserved 1-1 draw in Turin.

Published : Oct 20, 2018 23:51 IST

Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during Juventus' draw with Genoa
Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during Juventus' draw with Genoa
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Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during Juventus' draw with Genoa

Juventus dropped points in Serie A for the first time this season as Genoa held it to a 1-1 draw in Turin on Saturday.

Cristiano Ronaldo's first-half strike was cancelled out by Daniel Bessa as the visitor ended a five-game top-flight losing streak at the Allianz Stadium.

The result gives Napoli the chance to close to within four points of Juve at the top of the table and sees its 11-game winning run in all competitive competitions come to an end just three days before it faces Manchester United in the Champions League.

Ronaldo received a player-of-the-month award before kick-off and continued his good recent form with the opening goal, becoming the first player to score 400 goals in Europe's top-five leagues in the process.

But Bessa's header rescued a draw after some slack Juve defending and means Massimiliano Allegri's side no longer has a perfect record in 2018-19.

Ronaldo looked a threat from the off, forcing Ionut Radu into a good save before rattling the woodwork with a powerful header.

He eventually found the net 18 minutes into the game, tapping home from inside the six-yard box after Radu had been wrong-footed by Joao Cancelo's deflected shot.

Juve seemed eager to score a second as soon as possible, but struggled to convert its possession into meaningful chances, and Wojciech Szczesny had to be alert to deny Krzysztof Piatek an equaliser from distance.

Genoa's growing confidence was rewarded after 67 minutes. Christian Kouame picked up a loose ball when Juve's defence assumed it was going out for a corner, and his cross was met by the unmarked Bessa, who headed home from six yards out.

Allegri introduced Paulo Dybala off the bench and both he and Miralem Pjanic fired narrowly wide from distance, but Genoa withstood the late pressure to move into 10th in the table and give Napoli the chance to close the gap to the leader.

What it means: Juve confidence knocked ahead of United trip

Allegri's side had won 11 games in a row in all competitions before Saturday's game, but it has only itself to blame for failing to claim its ninth Serie A win of the season here. It seemed to become complacent after going ahead and Genoa deserved its equaliser, a goal that means Napoli could close to within four points of the leader if it beats Udinese. It also offered United a glimpse of vulnerability ahead of Tuesday's tantalising showdown at Old Trafford.

Cancelo fast joining the elite

Joao Cancelo is improving rapidly in Turin and produced another hugely effective performance. It was his run and shot that led to Ronaldo's opener and he largely stuck to his task well down the right, even as several of his team-mates seemed to switch off.

Bonucci pays price for complacency

Leonardo Bonucci had not had a great deal of defending to do, but the Juve defence were punished for the bizarre moment when they expected the ball to run out of play in the build-up to Bessa's goal. The Italy centre-back has to take a sizeable portion of the blame, though, as he failed to react in time and could only stand and watch as Bessa ran behind him to meet Kouame's cross.

What's next?

Juve will now head to the north west of England to prepare for that Champions League showdown with United at Old Trafford. It then travels to Empoli in Serie A next Saturday. Genoa has eight days to prepare for Udinese's visit to the Luigi Ferraris.

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