Soccer-Vlahovic pounces to earn Juventus comeback win at Cagliari

CAGLIARI, Italy (Reuters) -Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic pounced 15 minutes from time to earn Juventus a 2-1 comeback victory at Cagliari in Serie A on Saturday.

Juve made a slow start in Sardinia and fell behind when Italy striker Joao Pedro stroked the hosts into a 10th-minute lead.

The visitors dominated the remainder of the opening period and got themselves back on level terms on the stroke of halftime when Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt headed home.

There was only going to be one winner as Juve remained well on top in the second half, with the pressure finally telling as January signing Vlahovic scored his fifth league goal since arriving in Turin to seal victory for his new side.

The win helped fourth-placed Juve close to within four points of Napoli in third, ahead of the Neapolitans' clash with Fiorentina on Sunday.

At the other end of the standings, Cagliari's fifth successive league loss left them three points above the relegation zone, having played two more games than Venezia in 18th.

"It was an important game for us after we suffered a psychological setback by losing at home to Inter (Milan, last weekend), thus seeing the Scudetto fade," coach Massimiliano Allegri told DAZN.

"Today it was important to keep the advantage over the teams behind us.

"We have to take into consideration that Vlahovic is 22 and has been playing as a starter for a year and a half. At Juventus there is a different pressure. His growth will become complete when he is able to manage his energies."

An unbeaten league run stretching back to November before Inter's visit to Turin had dragged Juve back into the title race, but the Scudetto would have felt even further away after Joao Pedro's fine finish from the edge of the penalty