Juventus 1 : 1 Cagliari - Pogba makes goalscoring return

Posted Sunday, May 10, 2015 by PA

Paul Pogba made a goalscoring return to action for Juventus as the Serie A champions warmed up for the return leg of their Champions League semi-final at Real Madrid with a 1-1 draw with Cagliari on Saturday.

The French midfielder returned to action after a two-month injury absence to give Juve the lead on the stroke of half-time.

Luca Rossettini denied the Bianconeri all three points with a late equaliser which keeps Cagliari's hopes alive of avoiding relegation, but it was a painless goal to concede for a Juve side who turn their focus to Wednesday's trip to Madrid.

Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri said he wanted to see Pogba in action before considering whether he will feature against Real on Wednesday, and he chose to thrust the Frenchman straight back into action only two days after he picked up full training again for the first time since February 24.

It was clear that Wednesday's tie with Real is all that matters to Allegri since only Claudio Marchisio was fielded again from the side which defeated the Spaniards last Tuesday, and all eyes were on Pogba.

He was part of a makeshift side, also without regular number one Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo, Giorgio Chiellini, Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata, for the Italian champions.

After some good early touches, the Frenchman started to get his foot on the ball more often with the first shots soon arriving.

On the stroke of half-time, he had the Juventus Stadium crowd on their feet with a turn and shot from the edge of the area which took a deflection off Luca Ceppitelli on its way in.

With the minimum of effort, the Bianconeri had the lead against the Serie A strugglers, and it was something they wanted to hold onto without breaking a sweat either.

Cagliari had more urgency in their game, but still struggled to find a way through a defence marshalled by Andrea Barzagli.

As Juve were preparing to celebrate another victory, they conceded a free-kick wide on the left which was consequential.

Rossettini rose to meet the cross, planting his header against the inside of the far post before slotting in the rebound at the second time of asking.

Cagliari even had the chance to win it, spurned by Marco Sau with only Marco Storari to beat in the last minute, with Juve ultimately holding on for a point and turning the page immediately.