Atalanta 1 -3 Juventus: Higuain makes up for Ronaldo's absence in comeback win

Despite being without Cristiano Ronaldo, table-topping Juventus rallied from a goal down to defeat Atalanta on Saturday.

Gonzalo Higuain scored twice in the second half as Serie A leaders Juventus produced a late fightback to secure a 3-1 win at Atalanta.

Without Cristiano Ronaldo - who was not risked for Saturday's encounter - Maurizio Sarri's side were second best for long periods in Bergamo before Higuain's brace in the space of eight minutes.

Robin Gosens had deservedly put Atalanta ahead before the hour, though Gian Piero Gasperini will rue his team missing a series of chances - including Musa Barrow's penalty - in the first half.

Their profligacy allowed Juve - who also survived a VAR check for a second potential penalty against them – to claim the points, Paulo Dybala adding a late third for the visitors in stoppage time.

Atalanta looked set to make the breakthrough when Alejandro Gomez flicked the ball into Sami Khedira's outstretched arm, only for Barrow – making his first league start since December 2018 - to slam the penalty against the crossbar, with Mario Pasalic heading over on the rebound.

Unperturbed by Barrow's miss, Atalanta pressed on, Wojciech Szczesny making an outstanding save to deny Pasalic before Hans Hateboer had a close-range strike blocked.

Matthijs De Ligt sustained what looked to be a serious shoulder injury early in the second half but, after receiving treatment, the former Ajax centre-back was able to continue.

But De Ligt and the rest of Juve's defence were found wanting in the 56th minute as Gosens headed in Barrow's cross.

Atalanta's earlier wastefulness came back to bite them, though, with Higuain equalising with a snatched shot that needed a deflection to get beyond Pierluigi Gollini.

Emre Can's handball was deemed to have been accidental after a VAR review, and Juve made their fortune count.

Having beaten the offside trap, Cuadrado – who appeared to have handled the ball earlier in the move – slipped a neat cutback into the path of Higuain, who made no mistake with a first-time finish.

Victory was ensured when Dybala marked his 200th Serie A appearance in style, producing a composed finish into the bottom-right corner to move Juve, temporarily at least, four points clear at the top.

Higuain to the rescue

Sent out on loan to compensate for Ronaldo's arrival in Turin last season, Higuain has asserted himself as one of the key men under Sarri, doubling his tally of league goals for the campaign as he led the successful recovery mission.





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