BEVERLY HILLS, Aprill 04, (THEWILL) – Before a single ball was kicked in the Turin Derby of Saturday, it had become increasingly clear that a 10th consecutive Scudetto was seeming beyond the reach of Italian champions Juventus, in the atmosphere of gloom that the season had become for debut manager Andrea Pirlo and his charges.
At the end of the Derby della Mole, which finished two goals apiece, there were not much doubts left, as the draw left them with too much ground to cover and not enough time to do so.
Cristiano Ronaldo gave his all, in his standard manner, and as a result of his 31st goal in all competitions for Juve this season, the visitors were spared a first defeat to Torino since 2015.
Yet, that was not enough as Juve rightly paid the price for conceding a poor goal right at the start of the second half, which, at 15 seconds, was the fastest in a second half in Serie A since Bosko Jankovic scored in the ninth second in Genoa-Lazio in February 2012.
Once again, it has turned out to be another week Pirlo will want to put behind him quickly. As reported by THEWILL, the coach left Arthur, Paulo Dybala and Weston McKennie out of the squad for breaching coronavirus protocols, wanting to set a disciplinary record within the squad to make it clear what is and what is not acceptable behaviour.
But, having lost Leonardo Bonucci and Merih Demiral after they tested positive for COVID-19, questions will be asked if that was a wise managerial decision to make ahead of a crunch tie where all hands needed to be on deck.
Obviously, the manager still had enough quality in his team and, but for a bit of misfortune, any of Federico Chiesa, Rodrigo Bentancur, Alvaro Morata and even Ronaldo could have added to the scoreline to give the visitors all three points but Chiesa could not improve on his opener and 13th goal of the season, Bentancur hit the woodwork, Torino’s Salvatore Sirigu spread himself to keep out Alvaro Morata’s scuffed shot and Ronaldo could only salvage the draw with his lone goal.
For the hosts, striker Antonio Sanabria, who joined Torino from Real Betis in the January transfer window is proving to be nothing less than a shrewd signing. In just five Serie A games, Sanabria has found the net four times already. In the Turin Derby, only one of his three shots at goal did not reach target, a testament of his clinical stature in front of goal.
But, that is only half the Sanabria story. He contested 17 duels and eight aerial duels, both of which were game-highs, and ensured he gave the visiting defence a torrid time. He was more than a handful to manage and his brace leaves Torino two points ahead of third-bottom Cagliari, who have played a game more, making sure their hopes of staying outside relegation places are high.
Sanabria matched a 21-year-old record for the last Torino player to put two past the Serie A giants Juventus, which was Marco Ferrante in the Derby della Mole of March 2000. With 10 games left, Torino will hope they can keep Sanabria playing this way going forward. There will be so much to look forward to next season after they survive the drop this season.
About the Author
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.
