Juventus kept their hopes of winning a 10th consecutive Serie A title alive with a dramatic 2-1 win over Hellas Verona on Saturday. Paulo Dybala scored the winner in the 89th minute after Federico Chiesa had cancelled out Antonin Barak’s opener for the visitors.
The Bianconeri were under pressure after Napoli had beaten Lazio 3-0 earlier in the day to go six points clear at the top of the table. Juve needed a win to stay in touch with the leaders and avoid falling behind their rivals Inter Milan and AC Milan, who play on Sunday.
However, they faced a resilient Verona side that had beaten them 2-1 in the reverse fixture in November and had won three of their last four games. The Gialloblu took the lead in the 23rd minute when Barak headed in a cross from Davide Faraoni at the far post.
Juve struggled to create clear chances in the first half, as Verona defended well and pressed high. Cristiano Ronaldo, who had scored 10 goals in his last seven games, was kept quiet by the Verona backline. The Portuguese star had a penalty appeal turned down in the 38th minute when he went down under a challenge from Matteo Lovato.
Chiesa sparks Juve comeback
Juve came out with more intensity and urgency in the second half, and equalized in the 52nd minute through Chiesa. The winger, who had scored a brace against Verona in the Coppa Italia in February, cut inside from the left and fired a low shot past Marco Silvestri.
The hosts pushed for a winner, but were frustrated by Verona’s stubborn resistance. Ronaldo had a goal disallowed for offside in the 64th minute, while Dybala saw his free kick saved by Silvestri in the 76th minute.
Verona also had their chances to score, as Barak forced Wojciech Szczesny into a fine save in the 68th minute, and Nikola Kalinic hit the post with a header in the 81st minute.
Dybala delivers late drama
Just when it seemed that Juve would drop two crucial points, Dybala came to their rescue with a stunning strike in the dying moments. The Argentine, who had come off the bench in the 69th minute, received a pass from Rodrigo Bentancur on the edge of the box and curled a sublime shot into the top corner.
It was Dybala’s first goal of the season, and his first since June 2022, when he scored against Lecce. The 27-year-old had missed most of the campaign due to injuries and Covid-19, but showed his quality and importance to Juve with his late heroics.
The goal sparked wild celebrations among the Juve players and staff, as they knew they had snatched a vital win. The result lifted them to second place with 24 points from 11 games, three behind Napoli and one ahead of Inter Milan, who have a game in hand.
Verona remained in seventh place with 18 points, but will feel hard done by after putting up a brave fight against the champions. They will hope to bounce back when they host Sampdoria on Wednesday, while Juve will face another tough test when they travel to Atalanta on Thursday.
