Juan Cuadrado’s stoppage-time strike earned Juventus a 1-0 win over 10-man Fiorentina in Serie A on Saturday as the Turin club ended a three-match winless league run. The Colombian substitute beat goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano at his near post with a powerful effort in the dying minutes to clinch victory, despite a poor Juve performance in which they failed to muster a shot on target until the 86th minute.
Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic’s dismissal in the 73rd minute injected some life into the home side as Federico Chiesa blasted a shot off the crossbar and Alvaro Morata had a goal ruled out for offside before Cuadrado broke through at the death.
“We are happy with the win, we will continue on this line,” Cuadrado said. “We are a team and a family, we have to fight for our team-mates until the end.”
It was coach Massimiliano Allegri’s 200th win as Juventus coach in all competitions, making him only the third manager to achieve the feat since 1929/30 after Giovanni Trapattoni (319 wins) and Marcello Lippi (227). But the 54-year-old’s side did little to suggest an imminent transformation in form after an underwhelming display.
The result leaves eighth-placed Juventus on 18 points, level with Fiorentina above them.
Earlier on Saturday, Spezia climbed out of the relegation zone as Jacopo Sala’s goal earned a 1-0 win over midtable Torino. Atalanta beat bottom side Cagliari 2-1.
