Juventus 3-2 Frosinone: Late Rugani strike sees Juve win five goal thriller to keep pace with league leaders
Daniele Rugani scored in added time to give Juventus a much-needed 3-2 victory over a tenacious Frosinone on Sunday, their first Serie A win in five games.
Juventus remains second with 57 points, six behind leaders Inter Milan, who have two games in hand and face Lecce later on Sunday. Frosinone drop to 16th place with 23 points, three ahead of the relegation zone.
"A liberation, too important a goal that takes us out of a difficult moment from which we struggled to emerge," Rugani told Sky Sport after his 95th minute winner.
Both teams entered the game without a win in four games, leaving Juventus struggling to keep up with Inter in the title race and Frosinone dangerously close to the bottom three, making for an entertaining first half.
Juventus took the lead in the third minute when Weston McKennie expertly controlled a long ball from Federico Gatti before playing a low cross from the right side of the area that Dusan Vlahovic met, giving the home team the perfect start.
The home crowd were stunned into silence 11 minutes later when Nadir Sortea crossed from the right and as Juve's defence stood motionless, Walid Cheddira rose to head past Wojciech Szczesny.
Frosinone clearly did not come to Juventus Stadium to sit back and defend, and their positive play was rewarded in the 27th minute when they took the lead.
Abdou Harroui cut in from the left wing, spotted Marco Brescianini's run, and delivered the perfect through ball. Brescianini took a couple of touches to get into the area, then held off Rugani to shoot into the top corner.
Five minutes later, Vlahovic had a great chance to level when Federico Chiesa flicked a pass into the striker's path, but his heavy first touch allowed the keeper to save his effort.
Frosinone failed to clear the ball, and when Andrea Cambiaso passed to McKennie, his first-time pass found Vlahovic, who controlled before turning and curling his shot into the bottom corner.
After the break, the intensity dropped, with Juventus looking more likely to take the lead without creating any clear-cut chances and Frosinone content to settle for a point, with their keeper booked for time wasting after 70 minutes.
The plan almost worked, but deep into added time, Vlahovic headed a corner to the back post, where Rugani, from a tight angle, fired his shot through the keeper's legs, much to the relief of the home fans and the despair of Frosinone.
"There were 30 seconds to go, it's a big disappointment in terms of the result even if the performance was there," Frosinone manager Eusebio Di Francesco said to Sky Sport.
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