Brescia 1-2 Juventus: 3 Reasons why the Bianconeri won | Serie A 2019-20
It indeed was deja vu for Maurizio Sarri, as he witnessed his Juventus side battle from a goal deficit to take all three points for the second time in a row. The defending champions made it 2 consecutive wins, as they saw off a resilient Brescia side at Stadio Mario Rigamonti, temporarily moving to the top of the Serie A standings.
Cristiano Ronaldo was rested for this one, and Brescia had an early lead when Alfredo Donnarumma blasted the ball beyond Wojciech Szczesny in the 4th minute. However, Juve pulled level before halftime, courtesy of an own goal, as Jhon Chancellor obliviously bundled the ball over the line.
Juve continued to pepper the Brescia defence, forcing a save out of Jesse Joronen and seeing Adrien Rabiot's effort cleared off the line by Chancellor. The Old Lady eventually took the lead courtesy of Miralem Pjanic, as he fired a loose ball home from just outside the box.
Juve may have been without Ronaldo, but they dug deep to overcome a very resilient Brescia. The Old lady's quest for a ninth Scudetto won't be an easy ride, and they will have to produce even more dogged performances like this.
In this article, we try to make sense of Juventus' victory at the Stadio Mario Rigamonti.
#3 An unfit Mario Balotelli
On a night in which Brescia was without the ball more often than not, Le Rondinelle had to make the best of their opportunities. However, Eugenio Corini's men fired blanks time and again, with just 3 of their 16 shots hitting the target.
Balotelli made his Brescia bow for this one, but he failed to trouble Juve's goalmouth from open play. Balotelli lacked sharpness in front of goal but we saw glimpses of his artistry, especially from setpieces.
It was evident for much of the game that Balotelli is the key man for Le Rondinelle, and perhaps with a little more match fitness, Balotelli would have buried some of the chances he had.