Juventus and Bologna Battle to Stalemate as Coach Motta is Dismissed Against His Former Team

On December 7, 2024, Juventus made an amazing comeback to tie 2-2 against Bologna at the Allianz Stadium in a gripping Serie A game. With goals from Dan Ndoye in the 30th minute and Tommaso Pobega just after halftime, Bologna led. Juventus answered with Teun Koopmeiners in the 62nd minute and Samuel Mbangula equalising impressively in stoppage time. Despite an ongoing injury crisis, Juventus demonstrated their perseverance on the field by battling hard, resulting in their ninth draw in their previous 13 league games.

Juventus and Bologna draw and coach Motta is sent off while facing his former club

Juventus needed a late equalizer from 20-year-old Samuel Mbangula to finish 2-2 at home with Bologna in Serie A after coach Thiago Motta was sent off for protests on Saturday.

Mbangula curled in a shot from beyond the area in stoppage time.

Dan Ndoye and Tommaso Pobega put Bologna 2-0 ahead, and Teun Koopmeiners pulled one back for Juventus.

Motta guided Bologna to a fifth-place finish last season and the Champions League, and left in the summer for Juventus. He was shown a straight red card shortly before Pobega’s goal.

Juventus remained sixth while Bologna moved level on points with seventh-placed AC Milan, five points behind.

It was Juventus’ fourth straight draw in Serie A and the Champions League, and the Bianconeri are due to host Manchester City on Wednesday.

Also, Roma earned its first win under Claudio Ranieri by 4-1 over visiting Lecce.

Alexis Saelemaekers, Gianluca Mancini, Niccolò Pisilli and Manu Kone scored for the Giallorossi, who hadn’t won since October.

Genoa and Torino drew 0-0. Genoa extended its unbeaten streak to five matches, with the last three coming since Patrick Vieira replaced Alberto Gilardino as coach.

Torino was 11th and Genoa 13th.

(AP)