08 February 2020
Maurizio Sarri had said he was expecting a tough test at the Stadio Bentegodi but perhaps even he wasn't expecting quite such a vehement performance by the home side. After an excellent first-half display, Hellas fell behind to Cristiano Ronaldo's opener following the break, before Fabio Borini's opportunistic strike and a Giampaolo Pazzini penalty saw them turn it around at the death.
VERONA GO FLAT OUT, JUVE HIT WOODWORK TWICE
Verona's game plan was to press hard, pack numbers into the middle and get the ball forward quickly and it worked as Juve found it hard to play out from the back.
Wojciech Szczesny had to take to the air to turn Marco Faraoni's cross-shot behind and though Douglas Costa rattled the bar after surging forward it's fair to say the hosts were on top.
Marash Kumbulla thought he'd headed them in front midway through the first half, but it was ruled out for offside.
The game was being played at breakneck pace as the Gialloblu chased every ball. Faraoni had another chance but was unable to hit the target from a good position.
Ivan Juric's side were making good use of the width and Sarri had to bring Douglas Costa back into midfield in an attempt to find better balance.
After a good half hour going flat out, Verona's tempo inevitably dropped and Juve came into it more. Ronaldo was denied by the woodwork then failed to find the target with two further chances before the interval.
UNSTOPPABLE CR7, ANOTHER RECORD
After the restart it was Juve who took the reins. The tempo was slower now and the Bianconeri looked to assert themselves by bossing possession.
Sarri made his first change on the hour mark when he replaced Gonzalo Higuain with Paulo Dybala and soon after La Joya began the move that led to Ronaldo's goal.
Cristiano played a one-two with Rodrigo Bentancur, bamboozled Amir Rrahmani with a stepover and angled a calm, collected finish beyond the reach of Marco Silvestri. In doing so CR7 set another record by becoming the first player in Juventus history to score in 10 back-to-back Serie A matches.
BORINI EQUALISES
Verona looked to bounce straight back and substitute Pazzini wasted no time as he immediately called Szczesny into action with a header
Douglas Costa was then forced off with a muscle problem and Aaron Ramsey came on in his place.
Juve seemed to be in control but with 15 minutes left a rare poor touch by Miralem Pjanic inadvertently played in Borini. The Verona man latched onto the ball and placed his finish into the far corner beyond the reach of Szczesny to level the scores.
PAZZINI SETTLES IT FROM THE SPOT
Sarri took off Bentancur and brought on De Sciglio, with Juan Cuadrado pushing up into attack alongside Dybala and Ronaldo, and Ramsey dropping into midfield.
Moments later Borini caused another scare with a shot that was deflected behind and from the resulting corner Kumballa rose to head the ball and Leo Bonucci caught it with his arm. After a VAR review, the referee awarded a penalty, which Pazzini duly converted, thereby handing Juve their third Serie A defeat of the campaign.
VERONA 2-1 JUVENTUS
GOALS: Ronaldo 65, Borini 76, Pazzini 90+1 (pen)
VERONA Silvestri; Rrahmani, Gunter, Kumbulla; Faraoni, Veloso (Verre 58), Amrabat, Lazovic (Dimarco 80); Pessina; Borini, Zaccagni (Pazzini 80) Subs not used: Berardi, Radunovic, Empereur, Dawidowicz, Bocchetti, Adjapong, Eysseric, Di Carmine, Stepinski Coach: Juric
JUVENTUS Szczesny; Cuadrado, De Ligt, Bonucci, Alex Sandro; Bentancur (De Sciglio 82), Pjanic, Rabiot; Douglas Costa (Ramsey 72), Higuain (Dybala 59), Ronaldo Subs not used: Buffon, Pinsoglio, Rugani, Matuidi, Coccolo, Bernardeschi, Olivieri Coach: Sarri REFEREE: Massa ASSISTANTS: Tegoni, Colaroni FOURTH OFFICIAL: Marinelli VAR: Fabbri, Alassio BOOKED: Alex Sandro 20, Lazovic 39, Pessina 41, Dybala 75, Bonucci 90
