Juventus 2-1 Bologna: 3 players who impressed and 2 who were poor | Serie A 2019-20
Following a two-week hiatus due to the international break, Juventus returned to Serie A action and resumed their defence of the league title as they hosted Bologna at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
The Turin giants established a 2-1 win over the Emilia-Romagna outfit thereby strengthening their place at the top of the table and extending their unbeaten start to the new campaign. The reigning Italian champions are currently unbeaten in eight games and have accumulated 22 points in the process.
Cristiano Ronaldo secured the opener for the Old Lady but an equaliser immediately followed courtesy of Danilo's half-volley six minutes later. A chaotic Miralem Pjanic goal in the second half was, however, enough to make sure all three points were won for the hosts.
Maurizio Sarri's men had previously knocked all the shine off closest competitors, Inter Milan, by beating them 2-1 before the international break. The Bianconeri now stand four points clear at the top of the Italian top-flight with the Nerazzurri set to play Sassuolo on Sunday.
In this article, we take a look at players who either impressed or flopped during the game:
Impressed: Gianluigi Buffon
Over the summer, Gianluigi Buffon made a sensational return to Juventus, which served as his home for seventeen years, following a one-year stint with Ligue 1 giants, Paris Saint-Germain.
The 41-year-old goalkeeper had already established his status as a legend at the club but despite having nothing to prove to his supporters, he reinforced his position within the squad against Bologna by preventing the Bianconeri from losing points.
Buffon may have conceded a goal in the first half but the Rossoblu's equaliser could hardly be blamed on the Italian icon as Danilo's strike was far beyond his reach. He soon made up for the conceded goal by denying Paraguay forward Federico Santander's attempt at goal after his stoppage-time header for Bologna hit the crossbar. The ball rebounded off the woodwork to the forward, who pursued an overhead kick, only for the former PSG shot-stopper to put an acrobatic stop to the effort.
The save, which was the game's final act, undoubtedly helped the Old Lady keep all three points and was the highlight of Buffon's performance in what was an otherwise quiet and uneventful night for the Italian.