I love me some Italian footy, and I love watching Juve play, even though I'm an Inter supporter. I had seen the result prior to watching the match on my DVR, and I was really keen to see how we arrived at it.
Things got off to a weird start as Motta was handed a yellow for Juventus just 40 seconds in. That's right, in the first minute. Talk about your early yellows. It really didn't slow Juve down, as they had a lot of great possession throughout this match. In the 7th minute, Marchisio sent a hard shot into goal but it was saved by Andujar, the Catania keeper.
The great possession continued for Juve, and in the 15th minute Juve Captain Del Piero got a gorgeous free kick on goal, but Andujar made another save. However, in the 18th minute, the ref awarded a PK to Juve, and even the announcer wasn't really sure why. Del Piero knocked home the ensuing kick to give Juventus a 1-0 lead.
Juventus continued to move the ball at will through the rest of the first half. They were in total control. In the 38th minute they charged up the pitch after a rare Catania attack, and Del Piero chested a rebounded cross into the net to send Juve into half time with a 2-0 lead
Things didn't look anymore promising for Catania in the second half. Juve had chance after chance. In the 52nd, they had a nice break but a poor cross from Grosso was gobbled up by Andujar. In the 55th minute Matri had a glowing chance in the box, but couldn't get the ball off his feet for a shot. Juventus was not taking advantage of their chances, and you got the sense that they weren't throwing the knock out punch.
Still in it, Catania began to come to life in about the 75th minute. Gomez had been their best player all day, and he began to lead the charge. In the 81st minute he finally netted a goal to cut the lead to 2-1. Things were starting to look a little nervy for Juve, but they still had their chances. In fact they missed a breakaway chance in the 83rd, and Krasic missed a shot to seal it in the 89th.
Cue the dramatics.
As we entered the 5th minute of stoppage time, Lodi lined up over a free kick for Catania. You could feel the tension through the tv. Juve tried to perfect their wall, but in the end, Lodi knocked it home to finalize a 2-2 draw and cap a great end to a match that Juve had taken far too lightly. Now it remains to be seen if this slip up costs them a chance at the Europa League. For Catania, it's a precious point to use in their relegation battle.
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