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Ten-man Juventus kept their flailing Champions League hopes alive with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Inter Milan in the 2020-21 Serie A. Juan Cuadrado scored the winner from the spot two minutes from time to condemn the newly crowned champions to a first league defeat in 21 games.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring off a rebound after his penalty was saved by Samir Handanovic. After Romelu Lukaku restored parity for Inter Milan from 12 yards, Juventus regained their lead on the cusp of half-time, thanks to Cuadrado.
Rodrigo Bentancur's red card midway through the second half threw the Nerazzurri a lifeline, though. Giorgio Chiellini's own goal seven minutes from time appeared to have secured a point for the champions. But Cuadrado scored a dramatic 88th-minute winner from the spot after he was fouled by Ivan Perisic inside the box.
With the win, Juventus have leapfrogged Napoli to move into fourth place in the standings. But the Bianconeri will miss out on Champions League football next season if the Partenopei win both their remaining games.
On that note, let's have a look at the five hits and flops from the game:
Hit: Juan Cuadrado (Juventus)
Juan Cuadrado has been one of the most underrated players for Juventus.
With a staggering tally of 19 assists in all competitions this season, the Colombian has been the creative talisman for the Bianconeri. But against the newly crowned champions, Cuadrado scored an invaluable brace to keep alive Juventus' hopes of Champions League football next season.
It was his first brace in the league this season, marking the first instance in 20 years of a Juventus player scoring multiple goals in a Serie A game against Inter Milan.
With the clock winding down and with it Juventus' flagging Champions League hopes, the marauding full-back kept his cool and nonchalantly slotted the ball past Handanovic to secure a crucial win for his team.
Flop: Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan)
Marcelo Brozovic made an ill-advised tackle on Cuadrado. He failed to stop the pacy Juventus player and conceded a penalty while receiving his marching orders.
Inter Milan had drawn parity barely a few minutes earlier. So Brozovic should have definitely done better, but he allowed the ten-man deposed champions to walk away with all three points.
That moment encapsulated Inter Milan's nervy and erroneous performance against Juventus.
Hit: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Cristiano Ronaldo's exploits may have failed to help Juventus continue their near decade-long Serie A stranglehold. But the Portugal captain provided another instance of his importance to the Bianconeri cause by scoring a key goal, a league-leading 29th of the ongoing campaign.
He did miss a penalty, as Handanovic guessed the right way. But Ronaldo was on hand to fire home the rebound and put the dethroned champions in front.
Ronaldo's tally of 29 league goals this season is the most by any player in Europe's top-five leagues after Robert Lewandowski, who has netted a staggering 39 goals.
Flop: Gianpaolo Calvarese (Referee)
Italian referee Gianpaolo Calvarese got a few decisions wrong in the Juventus-Inter Milan game.
His decision to allow Inter's second goal to stand caused huge controversy, as he adjudged Giorgio Chiellini to have pulled Lukaku in the build-up and not the other way round, despite the pitchside monitor suggesting otherwise.
It was a close call, but Calvarese made it worse by committing another officiating error when he penalised Ivan Perisic for a foul on Cuadrado. That was despite replays showing the Colombian to have dangled his leg out into the Inter player and making the most of the collision.
Hit: Achraf Hakimi (Inter Milan)
Though it wasn't a standout performance, Achraf Hakimi was a threat all game for Juventus and kept Alex Sandro on his toes with his direct, pacy runs.
Hakimi was a constant attacking outlet for the Nerazzurri, laying a few good crosses and stretching the Juventus defence with his intelligent movements.
There were no goals or assists for the marauding Moroccan on the night, but Hakimi continued to rise in stature with another fabulous outing.
