Cuadrado Nets Brace As Late Penalty Sees Juventus Defeat Inter
Juventus grabbed a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Serie A champions Inter at the Allianz Stadium to stay alive in their bid to clinch Champions League qualification for next season.
The Old Lady were awarded a penalty 23 minutes in and, although Cristiano Ronaldo failed to beat Samir Handanovic from the spot, the Portuguese forward scooped up the rebound to put the hosts ahead.
Eleven minutes later it was Inter who would have the chance to convert from the spot and Romelu Lukaku made the most out of it to equalise for the Nerazzurri.
But Juventus reacted quickly and Juan Cuadrado gave them the lead again with a timely goal just before the break and three minutes into stoppage time.
Rodrigo Bentacur left Juventus down to 10 players for the last 35 minutes after being shown a second yellow card and Inter benefited from their numerical superiority to level the match with seven minutes to go thanks to a Giorgio Chiellini own goal.
Referee Gianpaolo Calvarese was forced to award another Juventus penalty in the 87th minute, when Ivan Perisic committed a clumsy foul on Cuadrado, who beat Handanovic to give Juventus the victory.
Inter unsuccessfully pushed for an equaliser in the remaining minutes, with Marcelo Brosovic receiving a second yellow card in stoppage time.
The Serie A champions have mustered 88 points with one game to go, while Juventus currently sit fourth with 75 points, followed by Napoli who have two fewer points and one game in hand.
