Added-time drama in Monza! Rabiot is the lighthouse in Juventus' darkness

Juventus are struggling to satisfy their fans' lofty ambitions and are stretching their patience. But the show they presented on Friday night in Monza was the craziest yet.

Juve were winning thanks to a terrific Adrien Rabiot header but allowed the hosts to level in added time through . And then, just when the black-and-whites were crying over two spilt points, Rabiot dug in deep and provided an assist for Federico Gatti to bundle into the net and give the black-and-whites a dramatic 2-1 victory.

In the opening minutes of the match, Michael Fabbri, the referee, awarded a penalty to Juventus after Giorgos Kyriakopoulos fouled Andrea Cambiaso in the box. However, Dusan Vlahovic was unable to convert from the spot as his shot and subsequent rebound were saved by goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio. Shortly after, Rabiot scored the first goal of the game for Juventus with a powerful header from Hans Nicolussi Caviglia's corner in the 13th minute. This marked Rabiot's first goal since the start of the season and put Massimiliano Allegri's team in a good position to move up the league standings.

Even though Juventus showed some vulnerability in defending set-pieces, they managed to avoid conceding a second goal when Gatti's off-balance attempt missed the target from Alex Sandro's header from Filip Kostic's corner. Despite having more possession, Monza struggled to capitalize, as evidenced by Danilo D'Ambrosio's failure to connect properly with Andrea Colpani's cross in the box.

The second half of the match saw Monza make a spirited resurgence, with substitute Lorenzo Colombo coming close to scoring from Patrick Ciurria's delivery. Juventus, content with allowing Monza to have more possession, saw little action for goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. However, the match picked up pace late on when Valentín Carboni's strike beat Szczesny. Nonetheless, Juventus sealed their victory with Gatti's second attempt at goal.

Allegri's team delivered a solid, rather than outstanding, performance. Their challenge now is for title rivals Inter Milan, who aimed to reclaim the top spot in their match against SSC Napoli. Playing on a Friday night after three consecutive weeks might provide Allegri's team with a psychological advantage. On the other hand, despite a spirited effort, Monza dropped a place to 10th due to an ineffective attacking display under Raffaele Palladino's management.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 14

Friday

Monza - Juventus 1-2 (0-1)

/Carboni 90+1 - Rabiot 12, Gatti 90+4/

Saturday

17:00: (1.95) Genoa (3.50) Empoli (4.40)

20:00: (1.65) Lazio (4.00) Cagliari (6.00)

22:45: (1.45) AC Milan (4.40) Frosinone (7.25)

Sunday

14:30: (3.00) Lecce (3.25) Bologna (2.60)

17:00: (1.50) Fiorentina (4.50) Salernitana (7.25)

17:00: (1.75) Udinese (3.50) Verona (5.00)

20:00: (3.90) Sassuolo (3.50) Roma (1.95)

22:45: (2.85) Napoli (3.50) Inter (2.55)

***odds are subject to change***