Juventus’s Federico Gatti scored a stoppage-time winner in a frantic finale to secure a 2-1 victory at Monza on Friday that provisionally propelled the club to the top of Serie A.
Juve sealed victory at the death as Adrien Rabiot’s pass into the six-yard box found Gatti, who initially missed his kick but quickly recovered, driving the ball into the net.
Moments earlier, Monza had grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser through Valentin Carboni after Rabiot had netted an early opener for Juve.
Juve has 33 points after 14 matches, one ahead of Inter Milan, which visits Napoli on Sunday, while Monza is 10th with 18 points.
READ | Sports Events in December 2023
Juve earned a penalty in the 11th minute after Giorgos Kyriakopoulos pulled down Andrea Cambiaso.
Dusan Vlahovic fired his spot kick towards the bottom right but his effort was saved by Monza’s goalkeeper Michele di Gregorio, who then quickly sprung up to push the follow-up away for a corner.
Juve broke the deadlock from that corner as Rabiot won an aerial duel, heading the ball into the roof of the net.
Just past the half-hour mark, Juve went close to extending its lead when Gatti fired over the crossbar.
As the rain poured down, the intensity subsided in the second half.
Monza was convinced it had secured a draw in stoppage time when Carboni unleashed a long shot that skidded off the wet surface and into the corner of the net past Juve keeper Wojciech Szczesny.
After Gatti’s goal, Carboni had another opportunity to level the scores, yet his long-range shot narrowly missed the target.
Comments
SHARE