Higuain saves Old Lady's blushes with late strike
Gonzalo Higuain fired a last-gasp leveller past England goalkeeper Joe Hart to save Juventus' blushes in a 1-1 derby draw with Torino yesterday morning (Singapore time), keeping the Serie A giants' title celebrations on ice.
Torino looked to be heading for their first derby win over Juve since April 2015 when Adem Ljajic put the visitors ahead seven minutes after the break.
But Sinisa Mihajlovic's visitors lost midfielder Afriyie Acquah in the 57th minute after he was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Torino had hoped to cause an upset days after the club commemorated the 68th anniversary of the Superga air disaster - which killed the entire "Grande Torino" squad when their plane hit the Superga Basilica overlooking the city on May 4, 1949.
However, Higuain salvaged a point for the Old Lady by firing a low angled strike past Hart in the second minute of added-on time.
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri called for composure ahead of their Champions League semi-final second leg, against Monaco on Wednesday morning (Singapore time).
"We created a lot of chances without putting them away, and when that happens, panic starts to set in and you lose lucidity," Allegri told Mediaset Premium.
"But that's football. Sometimes, you create lots of chances and come away with nothing, or the contrary can happen.
"But we've taken a point towards the Scudetto. Before, we needed four points, now we need three."
Juve's fourth draw of the campaign leaves them top of the pile with an eight-point lead on Napoli, who moved up to second earlier with a 3-1 win over Cagliari.
It means Juventus will have to wait until at least next Monday morning (Singapore time), when they travel to Roma, before thinking about a record sixth consecutive title.
Roma can regain second place if they beat AC Milan this morning (Singapore time). - AFP
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
- Napoli 3 Cagliari 1
- Juventus 1 Torino 1
- Udinese 1 Atalanta 1
- Chievo 1 Palermo 1
- Empoli 3 Bologna 1
- Genoa 1 Inter 0
- Lazio 7 Sampdoria 3
- Pescara 0 Crotone 1
- Sassuolo 2 Fiorentina 2
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