Gianluca Busio and Tanner Tessmann both did their part to help Venezia secure earn a point against Juve while Andrija Novakovich was an emergency sub for Frosinone in their disappointing collapse.
Venezia FC 1 – 1 Juventus
Gianluca Busio and Tanner Tessmann both saw considerable action on Saturday evening, as the Winged Lions ended their three-game losing streak with an impressive draw against giants Juventus.
Weston McKennie has only recently returned to full training with the Bianconeri, and was left out of the gameday squad by head coach Massimiliano Allegri as a precaution, in a move that the coach might already be regretting.
Busio started and played he full 90 minutes on the left side of Venezia’s midfield, completing 82% of his 44 attempted passes, while seeing quite a bit of action with Venezia on the back leg for much of the time, with 64 total touches. Tessmann played the final 26 minutes plus injury time in place of defensive midfielder Ethan Ampadu, and helped to shut down Juve’s Manuel Locatelli in the late stages of the game.
The Bianconeri heavily dominated possession (roughly 60% to 40%) and chances (20 total shots compared to 13 for Venezia), however in the end, the underdogs from the lagoon were on-target when it counted, and then held back a Juve attack that still has troubles finding its rhythm.
The visitors did nevertheless look set to take away a straightforward win, grabbing the 1-0 lead two minutes past the half-hour, with Luca Pellegrini whipping in a fine cross from the left side that Alvar Morata redirected into Sergio Romero’s net with a well-taken deflection off his thigh.
Nevertheless, Allegri’s men were unable to increase their lead despite controlling the run of play, and were made to suffer in the 55th minute with Mattia Aramu recovering a loose ball at 20 yards straight out from goal, and striking with his first touch to the lower left corner of Wojciech Szczesny’s goal to equalize.
Tessmann entered the fray nine minutes later in place of Ethan Ampadu to provide a pair of fresh legs, and general disruptive ability to the center of the midfield, where Juve maestro Locatelli was set to cause issues.
In the end, The Winged Lions held on to the unexpected draw, continuing Juve’s Serie A misery this season.
Venezia finish the weekend six points clear of the relegation zone, with a midweek visit from second-tier Ternana in the Coppa Italia, and a visit to Sampdoria on Saturday in their penultimate game of 2021.
Juventus continue their struggles in league play, now sitting eight points back of the Champions League places. They won’t enter the Coppa Italia until January’s third round, putting their next outing, possibly with McKennie on the field, on Saturday at Bologna.
AC Monza 3 – 2 Frosinone Calcio
Andrija Novakovich saw just over a half of action for Frosinone on Saturday, coming in for injured Gabriel Charpentier as they threw away a two-goal lead in a loss at Monza.
The American was called into action for the visitors just before the halftime break, after the team’s top scorer Gabriel Charpentier went down with a thigh injury.
Frosinone looked to be well on their way after Luca Garritano put them ahead with a lunging header in the 52nd minute, and then Alessio Zerbin made it 2-0 just past the hour with a spectacular strike from 25 yards out that took everybody by surprise.
However, the guests came storming back, with a trio of goals over the final 20 minutes plus added time denying Frosinone any positive result.
First, Carlos Augusto was the beneficiary of a chaotic scrum in front of goal following a corner in the 70th minute, and was able to put the final touch on a short-range finish to narrow the gap, then Patrick Ciurria burst in to head in a cross for the equalizer three minutes from full time.
With the hosts barely hanging on to the draw, their hearts were broken when a short pass into the area struck Francesco Zampano on the arm with not even two minutes remaining, leading to a spot kick which Luca Mazzitelli put away to the right side of goal for the winner.
The disappointing result drops Frosinone down to tenth place, now out of the promotion playoff spots. Having already exited the Coppa Italia in the first round, they will be back in action on Saturday when SPAL Ferrara visits.
Notes
Bryan Reynolds is currently in California training with the US National Team, and will not take part on Monday when Roma host Spezia.
Giuseppe Barone was not in uniform for Ascoli on Saturday for their 2-0 road loss at Cittadella.
