Display of Iron Wills: Determined Verona holds the high-flying Juventus as they host the Bianconeri to a frustrating draw at the Bentegodi

Round 4 of Serie A last night showcased a brave display by the underdogs of this fixture, Verona, who hosted the Bianconeri to a frustrating draw at the Bentegodi as Francisco Conceição and Gift Orban netted the only goals for their respective teams in a 1-1 draw.

The Key Moments: Diving into Verona’s Brave Stalemate Against Juventus

• 9’ Second yellow card in the last two minutes as Federico Gatti was booked for pushing Domagoj Bradric. Previously, Akpa Akpro received a yellow for a foul on Conceicao at 7’.
• 19’ Francisco Conceição gives the all-important lead to Juventus as he dribbles past the Verona defense line and takes the shot to put it at the back of the hosts’ net.
• 41’ A penalty was awarded to Verona after a VAR check, courtesy of a handball by Joao Mario inside the Juve penalty box, as Verona took a long throw to pose an attack for the important equalizer.
• 44’ Gift Orban steps up to the penalty spot and scores the goal as the shot he took deflected off De Gregorio’s hands
• 69’ Unai Nunez set up Suat Serdar for a golden opportunity to take the lead as he netted the second goal for Verona, but it was called offside by the linesman.

Match Analysis: Key Tactical Battles That Set Up the Verona-Juventus Stalemate

Tudor had his team set up in a 3-4-2-1 shape in front of Zanetti’s 3-5-2 formation. The match started with both teams piercing into each other’s half as they put up a ping-pong display. The game was also a display of a physical battle, as 28 fouls were shared between the 2 teams. Five yellow cards have been shown in the game, among which two were shown in the first nine minutes. Both teams weren’t shy of showing their attacking prowess. In contrast, Juve showed a clear domination of possession and threat in the first half with a solid defensive structure of Verona, which didn’t let Juventus have a free run into their goal. At the same time, the occasional counters of Verona posed a constant threat to the Juventus backline, which eventually resulted in the equalizer via a penalty given for a Joao Mario handball in 41’. In the second half, Verona looked more convincing while attacking in the starting minutes, while Juventus always posed an attacking threat via their young wing outlets in Kenan Yildiz and Conceicao. Verona also scored a goal in the 68th minute, which was ruled offside by the linesman. As the half went on, Verona made their shape more and more compact to deal with the Juventus attacking force. In the end, the result was a stalemate between the tactical masterclasses of both Tudor and Zanetti.

Standout Performers Of the Match

• Francisco Conceição—The 22-year-old came back to the starting XI after being out with a muscle injury last month and displayed a stellar attacking performance, also netting Juventus’ only goal in the game.
• Kenan Yildiz—Another day, another attacking masterclass put up by this young star. Juventus’ attacking outlet highly relied on him throughout the game, causing problems for the Verona defense.
• Gift Orban—The Verona striker throughout the game caused problems for the three man Juventus backline, always present in behind the defense to pounce on one chance, and eventually scored off a penalty in the 44th minute.
• Unai Nunez—The Verona defender kept up with the attack of Juve quite well throughout the game and kept the in-form Vlahovic mostly silent.

Stats and Numbers

What It Means

With the draw under their belt, Juventus are at the top of the table, but with Napoli having a game in hand, they might overtake them in this early race for the top spot. Verona, with a crucial point, gets a little room to breathe in their relegation battle.

Conclusion

With this draw, Juventus’ perfect record has been brought to an unexpected stop in the Serie A season, while Verona gains a crucial hard-fought point to save themselves from a drop to the relegation zone.