Benevento stuns Juventus 1-0 as pressure grows on Pirlo

By: Daniella Matar, The Associated Press Posted: 1:09 PM CDT Sunday, Mar. 21, 2021 Last Modified: 4:57 PM CDT Sunday, Mar. 21, 2021

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MILAN - Juventus’ hopes of retaining its Serie A title diminished as it surprisingly lost 1-0 at home to relegation-threatened Benevento on Sunday as the pressure grew still further on coach Andrea Pirlo.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/03/2021 (1975 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MILAN – Juventus’ hopes of retaining its Serie A title diminished as it surprisingly lost 1-0 at home to relegation-threatened Benevento on Sunday as the pressure grew still further on coach Andrea Pirlo.

“My future? The club will decide, I will continue to work day by day, match after match, to try to do my best,” Pirlo said.

“Then at the end everyone can draw their own conclusions.”

Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo runs with the ball during the Serie A soccer match between Juventus and Benevento at the Allianz stadium in Turin, Italy, Sunday, March 21, 2021. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)

Adolfo Gaich scored in the 69th minute following a horrendous mistake from Juventus midfielder Arthur.

Juventus remained third, 10 points behind Serie A leader Inter Milan, which had its match against Sassuolo postponed because of coronavirus cases in the Nerazzurri camp. AC Milan moved within six points of Inter with a 3-2 win at struggling Fiorentina.

“There wasn’t too much pressure, just the need to have a better match than this,” Pirlo said. “We had a bad match in every aspect. Our aim was to try to win playing better. Instead we ran into a bad day with our attitude and technical errors.”

Pirlo feels Juventus’ hopes of a record-extending 10th successive Serie A title are not over.

“We have to continue to believe in ourselves and focus on our own path and our own work,” he added. “Our aim hasn’t changed but we need to certainly change our mindset.”

The victory, perhaps Benevento’s biggest in its history, was the team’s first win since Jan. 6 and lifted Filippo Inzaghi’s side seven points clear of the relegation zone.

“I think that for Benevento it is something historic,” Inzaghi said. “I am happy for the president, the director, the fans and above all for the players, I knew they had the potential to do something crazy.

“Today they managed that and I am very happy, I think that this joy will remain inside them forever.”

Pirlo, who is in his first season as coach, was under increasing pressure after Juventus’ recent elimination from the Champions League by Porto.

Juventus struggled to make an impact on Benevento although it thought it had a penalty for a handball by visiting defender Daam Foulon in the 36th. However, the referee reversed his decision after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor.

Cristiano Ronaldo had the ball in the back of the net two minutes later but it was ruled out for offside.

Benevento took a shock lead when Arthur’s cross across his own area to Danilo was underhit and pounced on by Gaich, who gleefully turned it into the bottom left corner.

Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo, right, looks at Benevento coach Filippo Inzaghi during a Serie A soccer match between Juventus and Benevento at the Allianz stadium in Turin, Italy, Sunday, March 21, 2021. Juventus lost 0-1. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)

Ronaldo almost scored a stunning equalizer, nine minutes from time, but his overhead kick flew wide.

MILAN COMEBACK

Hakan Çalhanoglu scored the winner as Milan bounced back from its Europa League elimination by Manchester United and won a wild game in Florence.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic opened the scoring for Milan by slotting in after controlling a ball over the top.

That came shortly after Fikayo Tomori cleared an early Fiorentina chance off the line.

Erick Pulgar curled in a free kick for Fiorentina to make it 1-1 before both sides hit the crossbar: first a flick from Fiorentina captain Germán Pezzella, and a chip shot from Ibrahimovic.

Two more goals came after the break — a fine finish from Fiorentina’s Franck Ribéry, then a close-range effort from Milan’s Brahim Díaz.

Çalhanoglu’s decisive bouncing shot into the corner was the product of a full-team move, starting with Tomori.

“A comeback like this was very important,” Ibrahimovic said. “We had spirit, mentality, we were 2-1 down, but we wanted to win at all costs. We showed the character of this team and we must continue like this.”

NEW-LOOK ATALANTA

A new-look Atalanta won 2-0 at Hellas Verona to boost its chances of qualifying for next year’s Champions League.

Atalanta dominated after introducing a surprise new tactical system with Ruslan Malinovskyi and Duván Zapata scoring in the first half to help the team consolidate fourth place.