Higuain, Dybala score late to keep Juventus on top of Italian League

Gonzalo Higuain grabbed a second-half brace with Paulo Dybala adding a late third as Juventus rescued a 3-1 comeback win over Atalanta in the final quarter of an hour to stay top of Serie A on Saturday.

Robin Gosens had nodded Atalanta ahead after 56 minutes as the Bergamo side chased their first Serie A win over Juventus since February 2001.

Higuain hit back with two goals in an eight-minute spell while Dybala marked his 200th Serie A appearance with the final goal two minutes into injury time.

Maurizio Sarri’s side open up a four-point lead on second-placed Inter Milan, who travel to Torino later on Saturday, as Atalanta drop to sixth place after their fourth league game without a win.

Cristiano Ronaldo missed the trip to Bergamo despite his four-goal spree for Portugal because of a slight knee problem ahead of Juventus’s Champions League game against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

In the absence of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Argentine strike duo Dybala and Higuain ensured the eight-time reigning champions maintained their unbeaten run this season despite several controversial refereeing decisions.

Higuain had pulled Juventus level after 74 minutes with a ball that took a deflection off Rafael Toloi to beat Pierluigi Gollini in the Atalanta goal.

The Argentine completed his double when he picked up a cross from Juan Cuadrado on 82 where the Colombian put his hand on the ball during a sliding tackle at the start of the action.

Then Dybala broke through the Atalanta defense to finish off for his fourth Serie A goal this season. Atalanta had their chances with Musa Barrow missing an early penalty.

The 21-year-old Gambian rattled the crossbar after 17 minutes following a penalty awarded for a Sami Khedira handball.

Meanwhile, English forward Eniola Aluko has announced she is leaving Juventus after 18 months at the Italian soccer club.

Aluko helped Juventus win the Italian league and cup double last season and the Italian Super Cup last month.

She says: “After winning the Supercoppa recently, I felt a sense of great completion with my time at Juventus, after also winning the Coppa Italia and Scudetto.” Aluko scored 15 goals in Serie A. Her last match will be against Juve’s main rival, Fiorentina, on Nov.30.

Agencies