Cristiano Ronaldo's 96th-Minute Penalty Leads Juventus over Genoa 2-1

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a 96th-minute penalty to send Juventus back to the top of the standings in Serie A after a 2-1 win over nine-man Genoa at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday night.

Ronaldo was fouled by Antonio Sanabria in stoppage time and made no mistake from the spot, only moments after having an apparent winner ruled out by VAR.

Leonardo Bonucci headed the Bianconeri into a 36th-minute lead before Christian Kouame answered with a header for the visitors four minutes later.

Genoa almost escaped with a draw, despite seeing Francesco Cassata sent off for a second yellow card after a foul on Paulo Dybala six minutes after the restart. Federico Marchetti joined him, before Adrien Rabiot was booked twice for fouls on Kevin Agudelo and Sinan Gumus.

The result means Juve are a point clear of Inter Milan in top spot.

Juve struggled to establish any fluency early on in a scrappy game. The best of the early chances fell to Ronaldo, but he couldn't make the most of his shot after being played in by Federico Bernardeschi.

Ronaldo hadn't found his range yet, but strike partner Paulo Dybala was exploiting spaces between the midfield and forward lines. The Argentinian combined well with the pace of Cuadrado and the industry of Blaise Matuidi.

Yet for all of Dybala's guile, it took a more direct route for Juve to find goal. It came when Rodrigo Bentancur's corner found the head of Bonucci.

Juventus appeared in firm control, but Genoa were still finding joy thanks to the speed of winger Lasse Schone and Goran Pandev's intelligent movement. Schone helped win a corner Agudelo swung in for Kouame to convert.

The Ivory Coast international hardly finished cleanly and was willing to admit luck had been on his side:

The state of play became even more fractious during the second half. Juve boss Maurizio Sarri tried to introduce more quality by brining former Arsenal schemer Aaron Ramsey off the bench for Matuidi.

Sarri also swapped workhorse Sami Khedira for Rabiot, but the pace of Juve's passing remained pedestrian. By contrast, challenges were flying in and Cassata walked after bringing down Dybala, with Marchetti following six minutes later.

Rather than forcing the issue, the Bianconeri still laboured, even after Douglas Costa came on for Bernardeschi. Frustration boiled over when Rabiot got stuck in once too often.

Ronaldo still looked to have made the difference after being played in by the lively Cuadrado, but VAR appeared to have rescued Genoa. Sadly for the visitors, there was still time for Sanabria to deck the prolific No. 7 and give Ronaldo another chance he didn't waste.

Coincidentally, Ronaldo's last winner from the penalty spot in injury time had come at Juve's expense during a controversial UEFA Champions League tie that prompted Gianluigi Buffon's infamous tirade toward referee Michael Oliver.

Juventus and Ronaldo need to play better, but the experience and ability to hold their collective nerve in the clutch should still give this group the edge in the title race.

What's Next?

Juve are away to Torino in the Turin derby on Saturday, while Genoa host Udinese on Sunday.