Atalanta vs Juventus: Higuain hits double in Ronaldo’s absence as Juve claim comeback win
Gonzalo Higuain netted a double as Juventus struggled past a determined Atalanta with a 2-1 victory on Saturday night.
Mauricio Sarri’s side were without star man Cristiano Ronaldo but were able to find their form late on as a relentless Atalanta side finally wilted.
#SerieATIM FT: Atalanta 1-3 Juventus (56' Gosens; 74', 82' Higuain, 90+2' Dybala) | Possession: 45%-55% | Shots: 21-16 | Tackles: 25-11#AtalantaJuve #WeAreCalcio pic.twitter.com/MHsLcVTOSW via @SerieA
— footballisme (@footballisme) November 23, 2019
With Ronaldo left out the squad, Gonzalo Higuain was the hero for Juventus who rallied from behind to defeat Atalanta 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.
Despite bagging four goals during the international break, Ronaldo was left out the squad as Higuain, Paulo Dybala and Federico Bernardeschi led the attack for Juventus.
The hosts nearly found themselves behind after 17 minutes when Atalanta were penalty for a handball on Sami Khedira, but Musa Barrow was unable to convert after hitting the crossbar.
It was a disappointing first half for Maurizio Sarri’s charges who struggled to carve out clear-cut openings for most of the first half as they spent most of the stanza trying to get out of their own half.
Unfortunately, that was the trend for the visiting side while Atalanta did not fare any better themselves and were left frustrated after the missed penalty.
While both sides did struggle in the first half, Atalanta did look the better side and it was no surprise that they broke the deadlock on 56 minutes Barrow turned provider to pick out Robin Gosens, who nodded past Wojciech Szczęsny.
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However, the visitors were level with 15 minutes remaining as the ball deflected off Miralem Pjanic and into the path of Higuain, who slotted into the bottom corner.
The turnaround was complete for the visitors on 82 minutes as Higuain completed his brace by turning home a cross from Juan Cuardardo.
The victory was sealed in second-half stoppage time when Higuain turned provider to set up his strike partner Dybala, who fired home from close range to seal three points.