Pre-match

Vincenzo Italiano opted for José Callejón and Álvaro Odriozola down the right, while Nicolás González remained in quarantine. Max Allegri went with Adrien Rabiot in a wide midfield spot instead of Juan Cuadrado and picked Mattia Perin

First half

Aside from Terracciano having an early pass charged down by Álvaro Morata and getting poked in the eye by Matthijs De Ligt, Fiorentina were probably the better side in the opening moments, and although they didn’t create too many chances, they pressed well and kept the ball ticking around, particularly looking for long switches to Callejón (who, in fairness, acquitted himself fairly well). The hosts took control for about 15 minutes in the middle of the half, but it was all Viola on either side. The best chance came from Odriozola motoring down the right and crossing for Riccardo Saponara, whose volley skimmed just over. Danilo also got away with a handball right before the half, but that felt like your average Juventus tax.

Second half

It was more of the same, with Fiorentina generally dominating the proceedings and looking to create chances while Juventus tried to counter, but neither team looked much like breaking through. The turning point came when Nikola Milenković was sent off for a second bookable offense, “catching” Federico Chiesa in the open field.

Italiano brought on all his defenders to park the bus and, after Chiesa hit the bar, looked like he might get away with a draw, but it wasn’t quite enough as Juan Cuadrado (because of course it was an ex-Viola player) wiggled down the left and somehow squeezed the ball into the net from zero angle.

Full time

Goals: Cuadrado 90’+1 (ass. Locatelli)

Cards: Danilo 45’+2, Rugani 88’; Martínez Quarta 26’, Milenković 66’ 73’, Nastasić 81’, Sottil 86’

What’s next

Expect an inquest of the refereeing, as Simone Sozza waved off a pretty clear PK for Fiorentina before the half and somehow didn’t book Matthijs De Ligt, who poked Terracciano in the eyeball and produced a steady stream of fouls. The bigger issue, though, is that Fiorentina dropped a point that was there for the taking, leaving them in 7th place and now even with Juve on 18 points.

With the international break looming, Italiano and company will get to stew over this one for an extra couple of weeks before taking on AC Milan. They’ll be without Milenković and Lucas Martínez Quarta (another soft yellow) through suspension, so that’s nice too. Really, though, it’s back to square one.