Striker scores leveller in 1-1 stalemate against Juventus in Italian Serie A
\n TURIN
\nAndrea Belotti was the derby star for Torino with the leveller in Friday\u2019s hard-fought 1-1 draw at Juventus which hands Atalanta the advantage in the Champions League race.
\nInjury-plagued Belotti swept home Torino\u2019s equaliser in the 62nd minute of his first start since late November, earning Ivan Juric\u2019s side a fully-deserved point at the Allianz Stadium.
\n\u201cI\u2019m happy my goal helped us draw but it\u2019s a shame we didn\u2019t win because we played really well today. Had we won I don\u2019t think it would have been undeserved,\u201d Belotti told DAZN after his first goal since the end of October.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been a long time… But I\u2019ve spent the time trying to be as close to my teammates as possible and watch them play so that I know what the manager asks of us. That\u2019s made it easier to come back.\u201d
\nThe Italy international\u2019s leveller came in what could well be his last Turin derby after nearly seven years at 10th-placed Torino.
\nItalian media report that the 28-year-old has refused an extension worth 3.5 million euros a season to his current contract, which expires at the end of the season.
\n\u201cIf it is my last derby I\u2019m proud of myself and my teammates because today we put in a great performance,\u201d said Belotti.<\/p>\n
The draw means that Juve, who took the lead in the 13th minute through Matthijs de Ligt, can lose their spot in the top four if Atalanta win at Fiorentina on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Atalanta are three points behind Massimiliano Allegri\u2019s fourth-placed side but have a better head-to-head record and goal difference, as well as having a game in hand.<\/p>\n
Allegri was without injured captain Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci and lost another defender in Daniele Rugani during the pre-match warm-up.<\/p>\n
He said he was \u201cnot worried\u201d about Paulo Dybala\u2019s condition ahead of Juve\u2019s Champions League trip to Villarreal on Tuesday, despite the Argentina forward leaving the field 10 minutes before Belotti\u2019s goal with what reported as a left thigh injury.<\/p>\n
Juve were pushed back into their own area in the opening moments but were unlucky not to take the lead in the 11th minute when after a blistering counter-attack Adrien Rabiot fired an angled drive just wide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Striker scores leveller in 1-1 stalemate against Juventus in Italian Serie A TURIN Andrea Belotti was the derby star for Torino with the leveller in Friday\u2019s hard-fought 1-1 draw at Juventus which hands Atalanta the advantage in the Champions League race. Injury-plagued Belotti swept home Torino\u2019s equaliser in the 62nd minute of his first start […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-245337","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n