Saturday afternoon’s Serie A match between Juventus and Verona saw Portuguese on both sides share the headlines as the champions came from behind to win 2-1 at the Allianz Stadium.
Later in the day, the Derby della Madonnina took centre stage as AC Milan and Inter squared off at San Siro. Portuguese youngster Rafael Leão was issued a start for Milan – his first since a high-profile summer move from Lille – but it was a disappointing evening for the Rossoneri as Inter ran out 2-0 winners.
In Turin, it was a tale of two Portuguese veterans as Juventus kept pace with Inter at the top of the standings, although many would possibly have expected a more convincing victory over newly-promoted Verona. The underdogs came into the game with a solid return of four points from their first three matches back in the top flight, but they made their more illustrious opponents work for the victory.
Verona took the lead in the 20th minute, and it was a memorable moment for experienced midfielder Miguel Veloso following a remarkable sequence of play. Having won a penalty after being fouled by Juve defender Merih Demiral, Verona forward Samuel di Carmine saw his spot kick hit the post and Darko Lazovic struck the bar with the rebound, leaving the visitors aghast until Veloso picked up possession during the ensuing moments and rifled an unstoppable shot past Gianluigi Buffon into the top corner for his second goal of the season.
⚽ WHAT A GOAL!
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) September 21, 2019
🇵🇹 Miguel Veloso gives Verona the lead over Juventus with a wonder goal after an unbelievable sequence for the away team! pic.twitter.com/TdzXVEG7iA
The lead did not last long, with debutant Aaron Ramsey levelling for Juve through a deflected shot after half an hour to send the teams in level at half time. That left plenty of time for Ronaldo to be the matchwinner, and the Portugal captain duly delivered from the second penalty of the game. Koray Gunter brought down Juan Cuadrado early in the second period and Ronaldo calmly slotted down the middle to give the home side what proved a winning goal, although Veloso hit the woodwork in the closing stages to nearly earn Verona a share of the spoils.
After the match, Ronaldo downplayed the significance of Juve’s struggles to overcome Verona after their midweek 2-2 draw at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. “The important thing is that the team won, we were tired after the Champions League, which is only natural after the travelling, the intense match in Madrid, but we were able to get it done,” said the Seleção captain.
Meanwhile, Verona boss Ivan Juric was left frustrated by the result, but praised Veloso, with whom he worked at Genoa before signing the Portuguese on a free transfer this summer. “It’s disappointing, because when we put in performances like this and against Milan last week, we ought to get something out of it and it hurts to leave empty-handed,” he said.
“Miguel Veloso is in good shape, he’s very motivated and played well today. We made a few too many technical errors and lost some cheap passes, because otherwise we could’ve done even better. We created plenty of chances and allowed Juve very little in attack.”
Leão makes full debut in Milan derby
AC Milan manager Marco Giampaolo sprang a surprise for the Milan derby by naming 20-year-old Portuguese striker Rafael Leão in his starting line-up for the match at San Siro. Leão played most of the game, during which Inter dominated and ran out 2-0 winners having also hit the woodwork on three occasions.
Leão, who moved to Milan from French club Lille in a €30m deal this summer, had played just 15 minutes for his new club before being named in the line-up on Saturday evening. The former Sporting man was paired up front with Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek, often drifting to the left in what proved an ineffective Milan attack which yielded just one shot on target. A disappointing night was compounded when Leão was also involved in Inter’s opener as Marcelo Brozovic’s effort deflected off the 20-year-old Portuguese striker.
Milan boss Giampaolo explained his selection after the match saying: “Leão is a good player, he is fast, agile and has skill. I thought his pace could cause problems for the Inter defence. He must learn to stay in the game throughout.”
By Sean Gillen
