Pogba returns as Juventus fight back to win derby

Italian giants beat local rivals Turin derby 4-2 at home in Serie A

PARIS:

Paul Pogba made his first appearance of the season as Juventus twice came from behind to win the Turin derby 4-2 on Tuesday.

Earlier in the evening, Cremonese, who had not won all season, upset Roma 2-1 as Jose Mourinho received a red card, and the visitors missed a chance to finish the 24th round inside the Serie A top three.

Pogba played for the first time since returning to Juventus last summer when he came on as a 68th-minute substitute against Torino.

Another Frenchman, Yann Karamoh, gave visiting Torino the lead after a first-minute corner.

Juan Cuadrado levelled with the help of a deflection after 16 minutes.

Antonio Sanabria restored the Torino lead after 41 minutes when he met a cross with a sharp first-time shot that surprised Wojciech Szczesny at the near post.

Danilo levelled in added time, his powerful header from a corner bouncing across the line off the post.

Pogba replaced Enzo Barrenechea with 22 minutes left. Three minutes later, Bremer gave Juventus the lead for the first time with another header from a set piece.

French midfielder Adrien Rabiot completed the scoring with 10 minutes left.

Pogba's last competitive appearance was for Manchester United in the Premier League in April. He went off injured early in the first half of a 4-0 loss to Liverpool and did not play again last season.

He rejoined Juventus in the summer but injured his right knee in July.

The return of Pogba last summer generated great enthusiasm among Juventus supporters, delighted to see the return of a player whose first spell at the club (2012-2016) was punctuated by four league titles.

He initially resisted surgery because he hoped to make the France squad at the World Cup Qatar tournament, but later changed his mind.

Juventus, who have been penalised 15 points, climbed a place to seventh, still 10 points behind fourth-place Lazio who occupy the last Champions League spot.

Earlier, Cremonese's first league victory of the season lifted them off the bottom, one point above Sampdoria, but still eight points below Spezia, just above the relegation zone.

Roma started the weekend in third and could have returned there with a win, but instead end the round in fifth, pushed out of the Champions League places by neighbours Lazio.

Frank Tsadjout gave the home team the lead with a 17th minute missile.

Roma monopolised possession but struggled to breach a compact defence.

Mourinho was shown a red card for vehement protests at the half-time whistle.

The coach made five changes just after the hour, among those were attackers Tammy Abraham, Stephan El Shaarawy and Ola Solbakken.

Wingback Leonardo Spinazzola levelled with a cool finish after a well-worked move in the 71st-minute.

In the 83rd minute, Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio threw himself at the feet of David Okere, taking down the striker and conceding a penalty converted by Daniel Ciofani (83rd).