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Ten-man Juve seal dramatic win in Lyon

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Ten-man Juve seal dramatic win in Lyon
Ten-man Juve seal dramatic win in Lyon
Ten-man Juve seal dramatic win in Lyon

The Bianconeri overcame the challenge of playing the final 40 minutes against Lyon with 10 men to seal a dramatic win in France thanks to Juan Cuadrado’s wonderful strike in the 76th minute, which keep Juventus top of Group H after three Champions League games this season.

A strong start by Juventus saw Gonzalo Higuain belt a left-footed effort from distance just over the crossbar before Leonardo Bonucci had a close-range effort blocked unwittingly by Sami Khedira, with Lyon keeper Anthony Lopes most likely beaten.

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In the 35th minute, Juve had their iconic captain Gianluigi Buffon to thank in keeping the scores level with a heart-stopping save from Alexandre Lacazette’s penalty. There was little wrong with the French striker’s spot-kick, but Buffon dived low to his left to thwart the frontman in front of the disbelieving home supporters.

The visitors would have their chances too to take a lead into the interval, Lopes saving Higuain’s bullet header before an unmarked Bonucci nodded wide of the target moments before first-half injury-time.

The hosts came out more strongly after the break and Buffon would again be called into heroic action on 49 minutes, when he tipped Nabil Fekir’s deflected effort over the bar with just a split-second to read the ball’s notable change of direction as it glanced off Bonucci.

And Juve’s number one would cap off a simply extraordinary display between the sticks on 70 minutes, blocking Corentin Tolisso’s header from point-blank range on the line.

The Bianconeri had suffered a significant setback when reduced to ten men in only the 53rd minute, Mario Lemina receiving his second yellow card of the night, but, buoyed by the brilliance of Buffon, they built up confidence and belief that they could snatch victory late on which is precisely what they did.

Brought on for Paulo Dybala in the 69th minute, Cuadrado was celebrating a wonderful winning goal just seven minutes later, the Colombian skillfully slaloming past Lyon’s left-back before rifling in from the acutest of angles to send Juve’s away fans into frenzy.

The result means that Massimiliano Allegri’s men sit on seven points at the Group H summit after their first three Champions League games this season. The fourth fixture sees Lyon turn up in Turin on Wednesday 2 November.

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