An incredibly dramatic second half at the Allianz Stadium comes to a close with Bologna doing just enough to hold on for a 1-1 draw despite playing the last 20 or so minutes with only nine men.
Arnautovic’s first-half finish gave the visitors a lead that looked like holding until a wild turn of events following a Soumaoro challenge on Morata, which initially went unpunished at the 84th minute.
The referee returned from the VAR screen and promptly gave the centre-back his marching orders, which sent Medel into a tirade that earned him a sending off.
They were keeping Juventus at bay in the dying stages while playing with two men short. So it proved – with Vlahovic finally finding the breakthrough via a close-range header following a spectacular Morata assist.
However, Allegri will have to be happy with a draw, as they couldn’t find the winner despite throwing everything at their opponents. The point keeps Juve fourth while Bologna stays 13th.
Starting lineup:
JUVENTUS XI (4-3-3): Wojciech Szczesny; Luca Pellegrini, Giorgio Chiellini, Mattijs De Ligt, Mattia De Sciglio; Adrien Rabiot, Danilo, Juan Cuadrado; Alvaro Morata, Dusan Vlahovic, Paulo Dybala.
BOLOGNA XI (5-3-2): Lukasz Skorupski; Aaron Hickey, Adama Soumaoro, Gary Medel, Arthur Theate, Mitchell Dijks; Roberto Soriano, Jerdy Schouten, Mattias Svanberg; Marko Arnautovic, Riccardo Orsolini.
Goals:
BOLOGNA, TAKE THE LEAD! Three days shy of his 33rd birthday, Arnautovic powers his side ahead, latching onto Soriano’s through-ball with an intelligent run inside the penalty area before rounding Szczesny and turning the ball into the open goal! 1-0.
VLAHOVIC RESCUES A POINT FOR JUVENTUS! Bernardeschi’s corner meets the head of Rabiot at the edge of the penalty area, where it’s nodded into the crowd of bodies. Danilo manages to flick it onto the far post for Morata, whose overhead pass across the face of the goal sets Vlahovic up with an easy finish! 1-1.
So, what’s next?
Juventus will host Fiorentina in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final encounter.
They follow that up with a game against Sassuolo in Serie A on April 25.
Bologna has eight days to rest before welcoming Udinese to the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.
