February 19, (THEWILL) – Torino held Juventus to a 1-1 draw at Allianz Stadium on Friday, with Italy international, Andrea Belotti scoring in his first start since November to deny Juventus all three points.
Matthijs de Ligt’s first-half header was cancelled out by Belotti’s second-half equaliser, leaving the Old Lady eight points behind Serie A leaders Milan despite having played one more game.
Belotti’s contract expires at the end of the season, and he is likely to depart Torino, and if this is his final appearance in the Turin derby, the fans will wish him well.
Meanwhile, Massimiliano Allegri will be disappointed with his team’s performance ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League round-of-16 first leg against Villarreal.
Daniele Rugani was injured in the warm-up and replaced at centre-back by Alex Sandro, with Luca Pellegrini starting at left-back.
Torino had a great start and might have gone ahead if Wojciech Szczesny had not deflected a Josip Brekalo cross away from a waiting Belotti.
On 13 minutes, however, Juve seized the lead when De Ligt, who arrived with a soaring jump, headed in a looping Juan Cuadrado corner at the far post.
The visitors started the second half strongly, and were level when Brekalo – who had been a thorn in Juve’s right side throughout the game – went to the byline and found Belotti, whose close-range shot squeezed past Szczesny.
Torino pressed for a second goal until the final ten minutes, when the hosts came to life, but they were unable to find a winner.
As a result of their loss of ground to the teams above them, Juventus remain in fourth place. They will then fly to Empoli in order to get back on schedule. In the meantime, the visitors’ draw keeps them in tenth place, where they were prior to the encounter. They will play Cagliari next in the hopes of climbing the table.
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.
