Dejan Kulusevski, 21, started on the bench when Juventus visited Roma in a heavyweight meeting in Serie A on Sunday night. An injury to Federico Chiesa, however, meant that the Swede was replaced after only half an hour at the Stadio Olimpico.
José Mourinho’s Roma went down to a 3-1 lead at the start of the second half and looked to be heading for victory. Then Juventus woke up to life in earnest. Manuel Locatelli reduced to 3-2 after 70 minutes and just a few minutes later Kulusevski pushed the equalizer to 3-3. The case was first ruled out for offside in the preparatory work, but was approved after VAR review.
A long-awaited goal for Dejan Kulusevski, as it was the Swede’s first hit in Serie A this season. Kulusevski’s latest league goal came on April 11, 2021. It was also Kulusevski’s second goal of the season after he decided the Champions League match against Zenit in October.
After 77 minutes, Juventus completed their crazy turn when left-back Mattia De Sciglio placed 3-4. Three goals in the space of seven minutes for Juventus, that is.
But the drama was not over there. Just a few minutes later, Roma got a penalty when Matthijs De Ligt took the ball with his arm in his own penalty area, got his second yellow card and was sent off. Lorenzo Pellegrini stepped forward for Roma, but struck a weak penalty that Wojciech Szczesny saved in the Juventus goal.
Juventus then held off and won a completely crazy match in the Italian capital. The result means that Juventus consolidates its fifth place in Serie A, while Roma remains seventh.
Dejan Kulusevski has only started four league games for Juventus during the season and has been linked with clubs such as Arsenal, Tottenham, Sevilla and Genoa lately. The Swedish national team forward has a contract with Turinklubben until June 2025.
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