A year ago
After defeating Cremonese at the Allianz Stadium with goals from Nicolo Fagioli and Bremer, Juventus now seems certain to finish in the top four in Serie A.
Paul Pogba sustained yet another injury during Juventus' 2-0 Serie A victory over Cremonese on Sunday, which prevented them from advancing further in the race for Champions League qualifying.
Massimiliano Allegri made seven changes to his starting lineup in preparation for Thursday's pivotal Europa League semi-final match against Sevilla, giving Paul Pogba his first Serie A start since moving back to Turin.
Though Pogba's absence initially hurt Juve, fellow midfielder Nicolo Fagioli shattered Cremonese's resistance with a strong drive after halftime. Pogba's appearance lasted just 24 minutes when he was replaced in tears after appearing to sustain a thigh injury.
Bremer's late header put Juve eight points ahead of Milan in fifth position with three games left, giving them the edge for a top-four finish, assuming their 15-point deduction is not reinstated.
Seven years to the day after his last Serie A start, Pogba pulled up innocuously and left the field obviously angry, dealing Juve a major blow as they struggled to break down Cremonese in a low-key opening.
The Bianconeri got the closest before being jeered off at halftime when Marco Carnesecchi spilled Bremer's header after 32 minutes, but Danilo was unable to finish off the rebound.
As Juve attempted to improve after the interval, Federico Chiesa fired over the crossbar, while Adrien Rabiot's potent 25-yard effort forced Carnesecchi into action.
After 55 minutes, Juve scored to break the scoreless tie, although Fagioli deserves all the credit for hammering the winger's lay-off into the roof of the net from 20 yards out.
When Arkadiusz Milik scored with 16 minutes left, a VAR review prevented Juve from scoring a second goal, but five minutes later, Bremer scored the game-winning goal by reacting first to a corner.
Total Comments: 0