Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus have been labeled drab by supporters – the Bianconeri not off to the best of starts after more than a month into the new campaign. But, the Turinese giants were involved in plenty of excitement on Sunday night, as they shared four goals and four red cards with the high-flying Salernitana.
Antonio Candreva gave Salernitana the lead in the 18th minute, poking home a cross at the back post. Former Serie A golden boy Krzysztof Piatek doubled the minnows’ lead on the stroke of half-time from the spot after his initial effort had bounced off the arm of Gleison Bremer. The Brazilian, nonetheless, made amends minutes after the restart, powering a header into the roof of the net off a Filip Kostic cross.
As the clock struck ninety, Juve were awarded a penalty by the referee, spotting a foul by Tonny Vilhena on Alex Sandro inside the box. Leonardo Bonucci saw his spot-kick saved by Luigi Sepe, but he scored on the rebound, restoring parity.
A minute later, Arkadiusz Milik thought he had won the game for Juventus when he flicked a Juan Cuadrado corner past Sepe.
The forward celebrated wildly, earning a second yellow from the referee; to make matters worse, the officials then disallowed the goal due to interference from Bonucci, who was standing in an offside position when Milik last touched the ball.
The drama did not end there as the two dugouts clashed. There were further sending-offs for both sides – Federico Fazio was given his marching orders by the referee while Juventus had Cuadrado and Allegri sent off – as the game finished 2-2.
Juventus slumped to eighth in the table, two places below Lazio, who comfortably beat Hellas Verona 2-0 at home.
Ciro Immobile gave the Biancocelesti the lead in the 68th minute, powering a header at the back post. Luis Alberto sealed the points with a strike deep into stoppage time – the Spaniard keeping his composure amid pressure and picking his spot with precision from the edge of the box.
