| Welcome to Sportstar’s LIVE coverage of the Serie A match between Juventus and Atalanta at the Allianz Stadium. |
89′ PENALTY! Atalanta has its heart in its mouth as Ronaldo gets a deflection off a defender. Higuian gets a penalty after his pass comes off Muriel inside the box.
88′ Hateboer goes for a reckless lunge on Douglaes Costa outside the penalty box as the referee reaches out for a yellow card.
85′ Atalanta’s substitutes are all over the Juventus defence as Malinovskyi tries to have a go at the goal with a venomous strike from the outside the box after receiving the pass from Tameze. Sarri rolls his final dice as he sends in Aaron Ramsey for Blaise Matuidi.
81′ GOAL ATALANTA! A sensational spell of play from Atalanta sees Muriel find Malinovskyi on the edge of the box. The Ukranian buries his shot into the back of the net with a thunderous strike past Szczesny.
78′ SAVE! Brilliant first touch from Ronaldo. The forward brings down a cross from behind and skips past Djimsiti and hits it through the defender’s legs as Gollini gets down just in time to parry it away.
76′ Gasperini makes his final changes of the match as he sends in Mattia Caldara and Adrien Tameze on for Remo Freuler and Jose Palamino.
74′ CLOSE! Muriel capitalises on a De Ligt slip on the right and squares the ball to Malinovskyi who drags his shot wide off the bottom corner.
72′ Rabiot is shown a yellow card after bringing down Muriel in a dangerous area. Muriel takes the free kick but hits it straight at the Juve wall.
70′ Rabiot finds Higuian in space on the right as the Argentinian squares it off to Ronaldo who tries to dink the ball over the goalkeeper but the linesman had his flag up.
69′ Gasperini takes off Alejandro Gomez and Duvan Zapata to send in Luis Muriel and Ruslan Malinovskyi. Dybala puts in a crunching tackle to dispossess De Roon before he is replaced by fellow Argentinian Gonzalo Higuain.
67′ De Ligt does brilliantly to deny Zapata a header at the near post after Hateboer crosses into the box. Zapata gets a head to the resultant corner kick but crashes into the sidenetting.
64′ Juve has started the second half with a flourish and is growing in confidence with each passing minute. Ronaldo jumps high inside the box chasing a long ball from Bentancur but Gollini comes off his line to gather the ball.
62′ Pasalic straight away goes into the referee’s book for a clumsy foul on Matuidi. Castagne crosses into the box for Zapata but the striker in unable to bring down the ball after clashing with Cuadrado.
60′ The goals has raised the intensity for Juve. Douglas Costa cuts in from the right, dances past Castagne and plays into the space for Dybala but Gollini pounces on the loose ball to aver the danger. Gasperini makes his first change by sending Mario Pasalic for Ilicic.
57′ Sarri makes a double change as he sends in Alex Sandro and Douglas Costa to replace Bernadeschi and Danilo.
55′ RONALDO SCORES! Gollini goes the right way but Ronaldo slams it home with a powerful strike into the right corner.
54′ PENALTY! Ilicic tries to cut in from the left but is blocked by Bentancur. Juve regains the ball as Danilo cuts in from the right and plays it to Dybala who gets a handball from De Roon and the referee points to the spot.
51′ Ilicic finds himself in place in the centre as he puts Gomez through to the goal. However, the Argentine forward’s shot is blocked by Bentancur. Bonucci does well to clear the danger from the resultant corner with a headed clearance.
47′ Ronaldo wins a free kick on the left after being brought down by Hateboer. Dybala whips in a tame delivery at the near post which Atalanta clears easily.
46′ We are underway in the second half! Marizio Sarri has held back his cards at half time. Cuadrado tries to cross into the box for Ronaldo who is unable to find the ball in a crowd of green shirts.
HALF-TIME: JUVENTUS 0-1 ATALANTA
45+2′ Dybala shows dazzling quick feet to dance past three defenders and tries to cross into the center for Ronaldo, but the linesman has his flag up for off-side.
45′ Ronaldo makes a run behind the Atalanta defence and lays Cuadrado’s cross into the path of Dybala with a cheeky backheel. Djimsiti puts in a vital block to deny the striker a shot at the goal.
43′ Chance! Ronaldo escapes his marker and makes a darting run into the box as Dybala squares a ball into his path after receiving a pass from Bentancur. The forwards sends a powerful header wide off the post.
42′ Ronaldo and Danilo exchange passes on the left as the right-back sprays wide for Cuadrado who fails find anything and Juve goes to building from the back.
39′ Juventus is clearly uncomfortable with Atalanta’s physical approach. The wing-backs Hateboer and Castagne have been sublime in pressing the Juve midfielders, forcing them into making mistakes.
37′ Bonucci plays a long ball from the back for Bernadeschi inside the box, but the pass was too long for the forward to reach.
35′ Ilicic cuts in from the left-hand side and goes for glory. The ball takes a deflection off De Ligt and Atalanta has a corner. The Bianconeri defence scampers to clear the set-piece.
33′ CHANCE! Dybala beautifully brings down Rabiot’s long ball from the centre and fires it at the far bottom corner as Gollini gets a finger to deflect it wide. Gigi Buffon in the stands looks impressed by the Argentinian’s skill.
32′ Atalanta is dictating the play here. Castanje plays a dangerous cross into the box which Zapata heads towards the far top corner and misses the target by inches.
30′ Cuadrado is shown a yellow card for a cynical foul on Zapata in the centre. The Colombian is lucky to get away with a booking there.
28′ The Juve midfield has been overrun by Atalanta’s high press. Juve tries to build from the back as Szczezny gifts away the ball to Gomez who crosses into the box but is unable to get the better of Bonucci.
26′ Cristiano Ronaldo gets the ball on the left side but is forced to play backwards after being unable to find a teammate in the centre. The Portuguese superstar has been awfully quiet so far.
24′ Brilliant work by Castagne. He steals the ball from Cuadrado near the centre and barges into the area unmarked. The Belgian tries to cross into the box but loses control of the ball and Juve has a goalkick.
21′ Juve pour forward as Ronaldo tries to cut in from the left and crosses it to Dybala who does well to bring the ball down but is dispossessed by Palomino. De Ligt seems to be in some pain following a clash with Zapata. The Dutchman, however, looks okay.
17′ GOAL ATALANTA! Freuler wins back the ball in the centre and passes it to Gomez who escapes Bentancur with a piroutte and puts Zapata through to the goal and the striker stabs it hopes with a neat finish. What a start from the visitor.
16′ Atalanta is oozing confidence with crisp passing through centre pushing Juve back into its own half.
14′ More danger for Juve. Gomez gets to the byline after being played in by Ilicic and crosses it towards the far post. However, Cuadrado is in position to head it away to safety.
11′ Ilicic clatters his free kick into the Juve wall and but gets back the ball. Hateboer breaks free on the right and passes it to Ilicic who tries to curl it into the far top corner but there is too much power behind it as the ball sails over the cross bar.
9′ Zapata tries to free up Iilicic but is robbed off the ball by Rabiot. Atalanta makes way into the box and wins a free kick in a dangerous area following a sliding tackle from Bernadeschi on Gomez.
7′ Atalanta pin Juve back in its half as Marten De Roon tries to find Remo Freuler who makes a run at the far post, but Bonucci is in place to head it away to safety.
5′ Juve is bossing the possession as Bernadeschi lobs a ball over the defence for Dybala but the Argentinian was far away from the ball. Atalanta breaks away on the left as Castagne sends a fizzing cross at the near post for Zapata. The striker gets a clean header but sends it wide off the post.
3′ Ronaldo tries to cut in from the right and stopped by Toloi. Dybala wins a free kick in a dangerous position after he brought down by Djmisiti outside the box. Cuadrado’s delivery is cleared easily by the Atalanta defence.
1′ OFF WE GO! Atalanta begins the proceedings at the Allianz Stadium and wins a free kick in the centre after Matuidi fouls Hateboer.
- With second-placed Lazio losing 2-1 to Hellas Verona, Juventus has an opportunity to go 10 point clear the top if it beats Atalanta. The visitor, which is third in the standings, can move to second and cut down Juve’s lead to six points if can beat the league leader.
- History is on Juve’s side which has not lost to Atalanta in the past 30 encounters. La Dea’s last win against the Turin side came in February 2001.
Line-ups are out!
Juventus (4-3-3): Szczesny; Danilo, Bonucci, De Ligt, Cuadrado; Matuidi, Bentacur, Rabiot; Ronaldo, Dybala, Bernadeschi
Atalanta (3-4-3): Gollini; Toloi, Palomino, Djimsiti; Hateboer, De Roon, Freuler, Gosens; Gomez, Ilcic, Zapata
- Team News: Maurizio Sarri will be happy to welcome back centre-back Matthijs De Ligt and key forward Paulo Dybala back from suspension after the shock 4-2 defeat against AC Milan. Mattia De Sciglio, Merih Demiral and Sami Khedira are all out of the clash. Gian Piero Gasperini will have a fully fit squad at his disposal and will bank on the form of key defender Rafael Toloi and strikers Luis Muriel and Duvan Zapata who are on a free-scoring spree this season.
- Form Guide: Juventus – WWWWL, Atalanta – WWWWW
- What’s at stake: The Bianconeri are seven points ahead of second-placed Lazio but the rampaging form of Atalanta will be something to look out for. La Dea have won nine matches in a row and have dismantled the likes of Lazio and Napoli since the restart and can cut down Juventus’ lead to six points if they win today. Duvan Zapata will look draw level with his teammates Luis Muriel and Josip Ilicic on a season tally of 15 goals.
Sony LIV will be live streaming the Serie A match Juventus vs Atalanta from 1.15 am (IST) onwards on Sunday.
