Juventus Vs Genoa, Italian Serie A: Lacklustre Old Lady Held To Goalless Draw At Home

Substitute Kean came close to winning it for the Massimilano Allegri’s side when he struck the woodwork in the closing moments but it was another lacklustre showing for a team with just one victory from their last eight Serie A matches.

Dusan Vlahovic, just back from suspension, made things even worse in the dying seconds when he was sent off – booked initially for a foul then again for dissent.

The Serbian could have finished things himself when he spurned a good chance in the 75th minute, but mid-table Genoa hung on for a welcome point.

The visitors were first to threaten from an early corner, Mattia Bani winning the header but unable to beat the dive of Wojciech Szczesny.

Szczesny had little to do as the game wore on but was required to mop up soon for a second time in quick succession when Vitinha got a half-volley away. Tempers soon flared between Danilo and Mateo Retegui, with the pair split up by the referee before play could resume.

Juve took their time to establish a rhythm in attack, but eventually stitched together a nice move involving Weston McKennie and Fabio Miretti. Federico Gatti took the chance to shoot but was denied by Josep Martinez.

The hosts continued to press forward without precision, Gatti trying unsuccessfully to make something out of Filip Kostic’s pass, Gleison Bremer heading wide from a corner and Federico Chiesa tumbling inside the penalty area to no avail.

Genoa’s counters were no sharper, with a couple of long shots failing to worry Szczesny.

Looking for a lift, Allegri made a triple substitution on the hour as Adrien Rabiot, Kenan Yildiz and Samuel Iling-Junior entered the fray. Things began to improve for the home side, who created a couple of half-chances for Vlahovic before Iling-Junior produced a flash of inspiration.

Letting rip from outside the area the England under-21 international came closer than anyone to breaking the deadlock, with Martinez getting a decisive touch.

Genoa’s resistance should have been broken with 15 minutes left to play, Andrea Cambiaso’s cross picking out Vlahovic in a scoring position only for the striker to fluff his lines.

That was as good as it got, despite the best efforts of the bright Iling-Junior, who had one last attempt on goal, and Kean as Genoa’s hard work earned them a share of the spoils following back-to-back defeats.