Serie A
Super-sub Cabal lifts Juventus past Bologna
Juan Cabal came off the bench to earn Juventus a narrow 1-0 win over 10-man Bologna at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.… Show More
Juan Cabal came off the bench to earn Juventus a narrow 1-0 win over 10-man Bologna at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.
Juventus knew a win would lift it above its opponent into fifth in the Serie A table, and it was helped by a late red card for Torbjorn Heggem.
Michele Di Gregorio made a stunning double save just five minutes in, pushing away Tommaso Pobega's effort before getting back up to smother Riccardo Orsolini's tight-angled shot.
Juventus then had a 36th-minute goal disallowed for offside. Federico Ravaglia rushed out of his box, but misjudged the bounce under pressure from Weston McKennie, who squared it into Jonathan David in front of an empty net, but he had set off too early before slotting in.
Nadir Zortea also could have broken the deadlock on the stroke of half-time, but his rifled shot from the right of the box rattled Di Gregorio's crossbar.
Substitute Cabal took just over three minutes to make his impact. He rose high to meet Kenan Yildiz's whipped cross and thumped his header past Ravaglia 64 minutes in.
Bologna's hopes of a comeback seemingly ended five minutes later as Heggem pulled back Lois Openda in a desperate last-man challenge, resulting in a straight red card.
Despite having a player advantage, Juve created few chances to double its advantage, though Openda had the best, with his low first-time curler excellently kept out by Ravaglia before he blazed a one-on-one chance over in the closing minutes.
