Cagliari 0-1 Juventus: Vlahovic helps Motta´s men rebound from Champions League exit

Dusan Vlahovic scored the only goal of the game as Juventus rebounded from their Champions League exit with a 1-0 win at lowly Cagliari.

Having been dumped out of Europe’s premier competition in the playoff round by PSV in midweek, Thiago Motta’s men put in an assured performance at Sardegna Arena and on a different day would have been much more comfortable winners.

As it was, Vlahovic’s eighth career goal against Cagliari was enough to secure all three points and lift Juve into the fourth and final Champions League spot in Serie A.

The Serbia international made the breakthrough in the 12th minute when he caught Yerry Mina dawdling on the ball, rounded goalkeeper Elia Caprile, and slotted into the unguarded goal.

Caprile was out quick to deny the former Fiorentina man one-on-one shortly after and Francisco Conceicao was also kept out from an acute angle.

Kenan Yildiz’s low drive then brought out the best of Caprile in a first half Juve completely controlled.

There was noticeably less goalmouth action in the second period but Vlahovic was again thwarted one-on-one with defenders breathing down his neck with around 10 minutes remaining.

Cagliari belatedly applied some pressure in the closing stages but Yildiz saw a first-time shot beaten away for Juve, who were worthy winners in truth.

50 – Dusan #Vlahovic (42 reti e 8 assist) ha toccato quota 50 partecipazioni attive al gol in 95 presenze in Serie A con la maglia della Juventus. Rapace.#CagliariJuve #CagliariJuventus #SerieA pic.twitter.com/ta3m6ffnJc

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) February 23, 2025

Data Debrief: 50 and counting for Vlahovic

Vlahovic was named in Juve’s starting line-up for the first time since January 29 and he now has 50 Serie A goal involvements for the Bianconeri with 42 goals and eight assists from 95 appearances.

In total, the Serbian had three shots, two on target, seven touches in the opposition area and an xG of 0.79. He now has eight career goals against Cagliari.

Juve now have back-to-back away wins having defeated Como last time out on the road. Surprisingly, this is the first time they have achieved consecutive away wins this campaign, last doing so with a streak of three between December 2023 and January 2024.

Thiago Motta’s side have now racked up four straight Serie A wins, marking their best run since January 2024 when chalked up five on the spin.