Livorno 1-1 Juventus

Posted Sunday, February 07, 2010 by Goal.com

The Old Lady still appears to be lost for sorts after a less than convincing point against a fiery Amaranat

Livorno were desperate for points as they hosted Alberto Zaccheroni’s struggling Juventus outfit to the Stadio Armando Picchi.

The Bianconeri started positively but were quickly made to suffer by the aggressive approach of the home side. Serse Cosmi’s men then took a deserved lead when the pint-sized Antonio Filippini headed home from close range, but Juventus found a timely reply when Nicola Legrottaglie headed on a Diego free kick on the stroke of half time.

After the break the Bianconeri looked to push forward but their struggled for ideas as the home side continued to outsmart them on a tactical level. When referee Brighi blew for time both sides were forced to settle for a point a piece, leaving the Turin giants still very much in crisis.

The game started brightly with Juventus immediately taking early control of possession. Zaccheroni’s men had a clear desire to get off on the right foot, but nevertheless it was Cosmi’s side that opened up the first scoring chance in front of goal.

Despite the Old Lady’s intense pressing in the middle of the park, Livorno continued to push forward at will. The Amaranato were taking a positive approach and were by no means shutting up shop in a bid to play for a point.

The Bianconeri’s finally tested Rubinho on 24 minutes when Legrottaglie headed a cross goalbound following a Diego free kick. Unfortunately for the visitors the effort lacked the pace to gift Juventus a moral boosting early lead.

Less than 90 seconds later it was Livorno who broke the deadlock however, when Filippini rose inside the six-yard box and headed home past a stunned Gigi Buffon. The 36-year-old stuck his effort away well, but the Juventus backline had left a lot to be desired when the cross came in.

Zaccheroni’s men looked stunned as the pushed forward erratically in search of a reply. As they did so the home side continued to push and Livorno were threatening to double their lead as they sensed the vulnerability of their fragile visitors.

On 35 minutes Claudio Bellucci gave the Old Lady another scare as he cut inside and sent a low drive fizzing past the near post. Although Buffon seemed to have it covered the consistency in Livorno’s attacking play left the ‘keeper fuming with his defence.

Three minutes before the break Juventus found a way back when Legrottaglie again got on the end of a Diego free kick, to head the ball inside the post past a helpless Rubinho. This time the defender’s header was full of zip and handed the Bianconeri a massive boost on the stroke of half time.

After the restart it was the visitors who took the early initiative as they pushed men forward in numbers in a bid to take the Amaranato by surprise. Diego slipped a clever cutback from the by-line into the path of Antonio Candreva, but the former Livorno midfielder was unable to steer the ball into the bottom corner.

On 55 minutes Diego once again carved out a wonderful opening as he hit the by-line and sent a dangerous cross flashing across the face of goal. Unfortunately for the Bianconeri, the Brazilian’s teammates couldn’t keep up with him and the chance went begging with Rubinho well beaten.

As the game wore on both sides began to become a little stretched as the tolls of a pacey first period started to kick in. Although the Bianconeri tried to take control of possession, Zaccheroni’s men still made heavy work of contrasting a regular threat in front of goal.

On 71 minutes Livorno went extremely close to re-taking the lead when Nico Pulzetti was left open to drive a powerful effort just over the frame of the goal. Once again Juventus displayed their shortcomings at the back and were extremely fortunate not to find themselves behind.

Seven minutes before time the visitors were handed a massive blow when Felipe Melo was sent for an early bath after collecting his second yellow card for a tactical foul. It summed up the Old Lady’s evening who were clearly suffering the frustration of being matched man for man by a far inferior Amaranato.