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Main » 2013 » May » 11 » Juventus 1:1 Cagliari

Juventus 1:1 Cagliari

serie a
Newly-crowned Serie A champions Juventus came from behind to claim a 1-1 draw at home to Cagliari on Saturday.
The hosts fell behind thanks to Victor Ibarbo's brilliant solo effort, before Mirko Vucinic came off the bench in the second-half to snatch a point. 
Juventus made five changes to the side that won at Atalanta last week, with Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Claudio Marchisio, Arturo Vidal and Sebastian Giovinco all given starts. 
Cagliari made three alterations to the side that lost 1-0 at home to Parma last week, in an attempt to turnaround a run of form that had seen them record four games without a win.
Juventus were keen to get the title celebrations off to a good start and were unlucky not to be in front after just 10 minutes when Vidal forced a brilliant fingertip save from Michael Agazzi after unleashing a stinging drive from distance. 
Just a minute later though, the visitors took an unlikely lead thanks to Ibarbo's fine effort, as he picked up the ball from the edge of his own box and drove the length of the field before slipping the ball under Marco Storari. 
Moments later there was more bad news for the hosts, as Barzagli limped off on his return from injury to be replaced by Martin Caceres.
The home side struggled to take hold of the game for much of the first period, with Cagliari frustrating their opponents in midfield. 



Giovinco nearly restored parity just after half an hour, crashing a free-kick against the crossbar with Agazzi beaten. 



That effort reinvigorated Juventus, and they were unlucky not to be level three minutes before the break when Vidal fired over after meeting Emanuele Giaccherini's fizzed cross at the back post. 



The opening minutes of the second period saw the introduction of Vucinic for Giovinco, as Juventus looked for an early second-half breakthrough. 



Giaccherini came close ten minutes after the restart, forcing a fine save from Agazzi, who was also called upon to deny Alessandro Matri moments later. 



The pressure began to build, and Juventus eventually found themselves level just after the hour mark, when Vidal's clever flick-on across goal found the Montenegrin, who was left with a simple finish from close-range. 



Juventus were nearly ahead in unusual circumstances just a few minutes later, when Mauricio Isla's cross was met by Marchisio's shoulder before drifting just wide of the post. 



The home side began to tighten their grip as the game wore on, with Fabio Quaglierella and Isla both creating decent opportunities, but a dogged Cagliari defence managed to keep their opponents at bay and earn a point.
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