Serie A | Cagliari 0-1 Juventus: Vlahovic seals precious victory | OneFootball

Dusan Vlahovic pounced on an error for his first Serie A start of 2025 to give Juventus three precious points away to Cagliari, though the second half was a slog.

The Bianconeri had a mixed week, beating rivals Inter to go into fourth place and then crashing out of the Champions League play-offs to PSV Eindhoven in extra time. Renato Veiga and Niccolò Savona sustained injuries in that game, joining Pierre Kalulu, Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal on the absentee list, while Douglas Luiz returned to the bench. Lloyd Kelly therefore moved into central defence. The Sardinians drew 1-1 in Turin, then lost 4-0 in the Coppa Italia meeting in December.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Vlahovic made an immediate impact, pouncing ahead of Yerry Mina on the wayward Michel Adopo back-pass and sprinting around Elia Caprile to deposit into an empty net from the tightest of angles.

Kenan Yildiz controlled a long Michele Di Gregorio clearance to run clear on goal, denied as Caprile rushed off his line and made himself big.

The Cagliari goalkeeper also used his body to parry from Francisco Conceicao at the near post on a deflected Vlahovic lay-off, then stuck out a leg to deny Kenan Yildiz on the counter-attack.

Nadir Zortea fired straight at Di Gregorio from the edge of the area, as did Adopo’s header on a Gabriele Zappa cross.

CAGLIARI, ITALY – FEBRUARY 23: Kenan Ylidiz of Juventus passes the ball during the Serie A match between Cagliari and Juventus at Sardegna Arena on February 23, 2025 in Cagliari, Italy. (Photo by Enrico Locci/Getty Images)

Zito Luvumbo came on for the second half and caused constant problems down the left flank, repeatedly getting away from Tim Weah for crosses and pull-backs.

Andrea Cambiaso hobbled off with a muscular issue and Cagliari started to pour forward, but Vlahovic ran onto a long ball from inside his own half and was denied by Caprile, claiming he’d been pushed in the back by Sebastiano Luperto.

Douglas Luiz had only come on as a substitute, limping off again nine minutes later after a knock.

Cagliari continued to push forward, Florinel Coman blasting just wide of the near post and Zappa firing past the far bottom corner.

Juve also threatened on the counter with Randal Kolo Muani pulling back from the by-line for Kenan Yildiz to test Caprile at the near post.

Kolo Muani again rolled across from the right for Vlahovic, denied by a crucial Zappa interception.

Vlahovic 12 (J)