27 November 2016
Juventus were brought firmly back to earth on Sunday afternoon by a combative and competitive Genoa at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, the reigning champions succumbing to a 3-1 defeat in Liguria.
Any momentum built in Tuesday’s rousing victory over Sevilla in the Champions League was dashed today as a quick-fire double from Giovanni Simeone and an Alex Sandro own goal punished the Bianconeri for a sloppy first-half showing.
Miralem Pjanic’s perfectly placed free-kick eight minutes from time would unfortunately count for nothing as Genoa resisted a spirited final push from the visitors to extend their unbeaten home record to seven matches.
From the off, Ivan Juric’s Genoa were quick to press their visitors all over the field and it was that harrying that led to the game’s opening goal and indeed most of Juve’s troubles in the opening period.
Leonardo Bonucci’s slip near the right sideline after two minutes triggered a moment of panic in the Juventus box, a mixture of Gianluigi Buffon and Alex Sandro denying Genoa three times before Giovanni Simeone rammed home at the fourth attempt.
The young Argentine soon scored his second shortly before the quarter-hour mark, ghosting in to smartly guide a header inches over the fingertips of the diving Buffon.
The Bianconeri’s lacklustre first-half was completed 15 minutes later from another untidy passage of play in their own penalty area. Alex Sandro acrobatically attempted in vain to clear Luca Rigoni’s looping goal-bound header only for Simeone to blast home from less than a yard – the goal eventually cruelly being attributed to the Brazilian wing-back.
An improved Juventus emerged for the second period and might have reduced their arrears minutes after the interval had Pjanic’s low drive from Mario Mandzukic’s lay-off skidded the other side of the far post.
The Bosnian would find his range however eight minutes from time, curling a superb free-kick up and over the wall and into the corner, a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing afternoon.
