Genoa 2-1 Juventus: Criscito´s late penalty redemption boosts survival hopes

Domenico Criscito gained redemption by breathing new life into Genoa’s Serie A survival bid with a late penalty winner to secure a 2-1 success over Juventus. 

Genoa captain Criscito erred from the spot in a 1-0 loss to local rivals Sampdoria on Saturday but got the better of Wojciech Szczesny with the final kick of the game from 12 yards in an incredible finale at the Marassi. 

Paulo Dybala appeared to have Juve heading into Wednesday’s Coppa Italia final on the back of a win, but Albert Gudmundsson equalised in the 87th minute. 

Moise Kean inexplicably missed a chance to win it for Juve with the goal gaping, and Criscito took full advantage after Mattia De Sciglio tripped Kelvin Yeboah to spark scenes of jubilation. 

After a first half of few chances, Dybala put Juve in front three minutes after the restart by powering a fine finish from the edge of the box into the bottom-right corner.  

Dybala cut in off the right and drilled a powerful shot against the upright and within the next four minutes Salvatore Sirigu did superbly to deny Kean and Dusan Vlahovic. 

Gudmundsson was relieved to see a penalty awarded for his challenge on substitute Marley Ake overturned and he was celebrating after steering Nadiem Amiri’s excellent pass home in the 87th minute. 

Amiri missed a glorious chance to win and Kean – who appeared to be struggling with an injury – failed to score on the break after Alvaro Morata took the onrushing Sirigu out the equation with a square pass. 

Genoa’s push for a winner was rewarded in the sixth minute of stoppage time, with Criscito moving them just one point adrift of safety with two games remaining. 

What does it mean? Six days makes all the difference 

After failing to score his 96th-minute penalty against Sampdoria at the weekend, a tearful Criscito had to be consoled on the pitch by his team-mates. 

On Friday, though, he was at the heart of the celebrations after atoning for that error and giving Genoa their first Serie A win over Juve in six attempts. 

It was only the second time since December that the Bianconeri, who clinched a Champions League spot last weekend, have lost in the league. 

96 – Domenico #Criscito is the only defender able to score at least 2 penalty goals in Serie A after the 95′ minute of play since 2004/05 (since Opta collected this kind of data) – the other vs Fiorentina in September 2021. Revenge.#GenoaJuventus

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) May 6, 2022

Alongside Baggio  

Dybala’s goal was his 115th for the Bianconeri, putting him level with Roberto Baggio in ninth in Juve’s all-time scoring chart in all competitions.  

Moise misfires 

In his first Serie A start since March 12, Kean looked rusty. He had six attempts on goal but was only able to hit the target with one of them and had fewer touches (47) than Szczesny (52). 

What’s next?  

After taking on Inter in the Coppa final, Juve entertain Lazio in Serie A the following Monday. Genoa face a tricky trip to Napoli on the Sunday prior.