Dybala hits hat-trick as Juventus downs Genoa

Juventus was 2-0 down to Genoa after seven minutes, but Paulo Dybala's hat-trick proved key to an impressive turnaround.

Published : Aug 27, 2017 00:29 IST

Paulo Dybala scored his first Serie A hat-trick as Juventus came from two goals down to defeat Genoa 4-2 in an action-packed clash at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Juve found itself 2-0 behind after just seven minutes, but Dybala's double pulled it level and the Argentine put the gloss on things with an excellent third that took his Serie A tally to 50 following Juan Cuadrado's effort.

An own goal from Miralem Pjanic just 18 seconds into his 50th appearance for the club got Juve off to a terrible start and matters were made worse when Andrej Galabinov scored a penalty after referee Luca Banti used VAR to look at Daniele Rugani's challenge on the Bulgarian.

It was the second time in as many matches Massimiliano Allegri's side found itself on the wrong side of a spot-kick decision based on video technology, but the system worked in its favour after Dybala had got the team going with an instinctive finish.

Banti deemed Darko Lazovic to have handled a shot from Mario Mandzukic after watching a replay and Dybala restored parity from 12 yards deep in first-half stoppage time.

Cuadrado beat Mattia Perin to put the visitor ahead for the first time and Dybala fired a sweet near-post strike beyond the goalkeeper to ensure Juve escaped with a second win from as many Serie A matches.

An electric start saw Genoa take a surprise lead in the opening minute, Goran Pandev's cross from the right ending up in the back of the net after Giorgio Chiellini deflected it onto Pjanic.

Perin produced a sensational save to stop Santiago Gentiletti heading into the back of his own net and Genoa had a chance to move two up when referee Banti used VAR to award it a penalty for Rugani's tackle from behind on Galabinov.

Stephan Lichtsteiner was booked for his protests, with the Genoa forward having appeared to be offside from Adel Taarabt's touch, but Galabinov was unforgiving and fired his spot-kick down the middle.

Juve, without injured midfielder Claudio Marchisio, did not dwell on the setback and halved the deficit when Dybala met Pjanic's cutback with a cool, first-time finish beyond Perin in the 14th minute.

As Genoa looked to threaten on the break it came under pressure and Perin produced a remarkable double save to keep out Dybala and Mandzukic in quick succession.

Juve was not to be denied an equaliser before the break, though. Banti used the VAR system again to penalise Lazovic for blocking a shot from Mandzukic with his arm and Dybala drilled the resultant spot-kick into the top-right corner.

Allegri's side struggled to create and, after Blaise Matuidi replaced Sami Khedira to offer some additional dynamism in midfield, Juve breached the Genoa defence again in the 62nd minute when Cuadrado beat Diego Laxalt and picked out the top-left corner.

Rodrigo Bentancur made his Juve debut as a replacement for Pjanic before Gianluigi Buffon – named UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year in midweek – kept out Raffaele Palladino as Genoa pushed for an equaliser.

Dybala made the scoreline more flattering by arrowing a low shot in at the near post in the 92nd minute, his landmark goal coming in fine fashion.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment