29 October 2014
A last-gasp Luca Antonini winner in the fourth minute of added time consigned the Bianconeri to their first Serie A defeat of the season on a disappointing night at the Luigi Ferraris.
Having dominated proceedings throughout, Juventus were made to pay a heavy price for failing to capitalise on their 16 chances created over the course of the 90 minutes, with Genoa catching them cold on the break as they threw bodies forward in search of a winner.
Gigi Buffon, making his 500th Juventus appearance, had very little to contend with but will go away ruing the team’s luck after a result that seemed within their clutches was snatched away right at the death.
The full time score in Liguria, coupled with Roma’s 2-0 victory over Genoa, pushes the Giallorossi level on points with the reigning champions, who will look to bounce back at the first time of asking when they travel to newly-promoted Empoli on Saturday.
It was a disappointing end to an evening that started promisingly. One of the two changes from the weekend win over Palermo, Stephan Lichtsteiner, mustered the Bianconeri’s first attempt on goal during a fast-paced start to proceedings, forcing Mattia Perin to scramble across his line to ensure his deflected strike ended up over the top.
As predicted by Massimiliano Allegri in the build-up to the game, the pitch at the Luigi Ferraris, hit by the recent flooding in Liguria, hampered the visitors’ traditional passing game.
That said, the difficult conditions failed to dampen the spirits of Carlos Tevez, who drew Perin into a low save after stepping past Nicolas Burdisso on 22 minutes.
The Argentine defender was beaten again moments later by Fernando Llorente, but this time the post rode to the hosts’ rescue following the Spaniard’s neat close control and finish in a tight area.
With the midfield area becoming even more congested as the half wore on, Paul Pogba, recalled to the starting line-up in favour of Andrea Pirlo, used his stature to his advantage to break through and strike twice but saw both shots finish wide of the mark.
Juventus began the second-half with a spring in their step, instantly setting up camp deep into Grifone territory as they bid to achieve the breakthrough. After Lichtsteiner had sliced wide from the edge of the box, Leonardo Bonucci went close with a header that flashed inches past the upright following Tevez’s precise corner.
With the pressure increasing and substitute Alvaro Morata adding extra pace to the Bianconeri attack, Angelo Ogbonna went agonisingly close to putting the visitors in front after finding himself in unchartered territory on 69 minutes, only to see his hooked effort bounce back off the post from a matter of yards.
In spite of continued pressing during the closing stages of the game and an impressive contribution from Morata, whose late shot that arrowed towards the top corner was turned away by a magnificent one-handed Perin stop, the goal Juventus searched for and on the balance of play deserved failed to materialise.
But there was to be one final twist in the tale as substitute and former Bianconeri frontman Alessandro Matri took advantage of an exposed visitors’ rearguard to prod the ball in the direction of Luca Antonini, who bundled the ball home to send the Marassi into ecstasy.
