Juventus 1-1 Roma: An Extremely Eventful First Half Comes To A Dramatic End

The first half of the match between Juventus and Roma has been a wild one, with both teams scoring deserved goals and giving referee Nicola Rizzoli plenty to think about. Juventus struck first, but a stoppage time penalty kick allowed Roma to equalize.

Roma had the better of the play throughout the first half, but that doesn’t mean that Juventus didn’t deserve their first goal. Alberto Aquilani did brilliantly in the 35th minute to beat his defender before delivering an inch perfect pass into the box for Vincenzo Iaquinta. The striker hit a quality shot with his right foot to the bottom left corner, putting the old lady up 1-0. It was Juve’s first good opportunity from open play after Roma had dominated the opening 35 minutes.

Just before the stroke of halftime, Roma had a free kick from just outside the Juventus area. Simone Pepe blocked the effort, but in the eyes of the referee (and everyone else after viewing a replay), he did so illegally with his arm. After a couple minutes worth of mayhem and protests from both teams, Francesco Totti put the ball down on the spot and finished off the penalty kick, knotting up the game at 1-1.

Roma have had an incredible 69% of the possession in the first half and the goal was Juve’s only shot on target in the first half. Luigi Delneri will be seriously considering some tactical changes to switch up the flow of the match. Even though Roma scored on a penalty and Juve’s goal was well deserved, Delneri will feel lucky to go into halftime tied with a chance to win the match.