Juventus returned to duty following the international break by welcoming Empoli to Turin on Saturday evening, the fixture completing the latest round of Serie A action.
After a day in which the two teams directly below the Bianconeri—AS Roma and Lazio —both won, they knew a win against the Tuscan minnows would maintain their 14-point advantage over the chasing pack with just nine games left to play.
Maurizio Sarri’s men would be no pushovers, however, with the Azzurri enjoying their return to the top flight and coming into the game sitting in 14th place. While they turned in another excellent performance, they would prove no match for the reigning champions, eventually succumbing 2-0 after 90 hard-fought minutes.
Massimiliano Allegri’s task was complicated by the absences of Claudio Marchisio, Paul Pogba and Andrea Pirlo—the midfield trio at varying stages in their recovery from injury. After their international exploits last week, Kingsley Coman was also omitted, with the team selection somewhat reflective of the schedule awaiting the Old Lady in the coming weeks.
Given that cushion in the standings and with the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final against Fiorentina on Tuesday—and just a further just seven days until AS Monaco visit Juventus Stadium for a Champions League quarter-final clash—it was perhaps no surprise to see the coach also rest a number of other players here.
Leaving out Giorgio Chiellini, Allegri handed Angelo Ogbonna the perfect chance to show he could be relied upon—a matter discussed at length in this previous column. Empoli’s high-tempo play would test Ogbonna early, and a successful tackle followed by a clearance under pressure quickly calmed the nerves of the Juventus defender.
From there he would excel, forming part of the solid back line upon which the Bianconeri would build yet another victory. Stefano Sturaro and Simone Padoin turned in solid midfield performances in place of their more high-profile team-mates, while Fernando Llorente was excellent in leading the line throughout the match.
When the deadlock was finally broken, it was no surprise to see it was Carlos Tevez once again finding the back of the net, the striker taking his tally for the campaign to 25 goals in all competitions. The 31-year-old had already tormented the Empoli defence on numerous occasions, but after Daniele Rugani was judged to have made a back pass to Luigi Sepe, the Argentinian would seize his opportunity.
While the decision was debatable, there would be no question marks over the resulting indirect free kick, Arturo Vidal knocking the ball sideways and Tevez smashing it into the roof of the net. It left the defenders and goalkeeper helpless to prevent the home side taking the lead, and just two minutes later, it was half-time.
The interval came and went, with Gigi Buffon called into action shortly afterwards, making superb saves from Riccardo Saponara and Manuel Pucciarelli in quick succession, and he would pull off another important double save 20 minutes later to deny any hope of an equaliser.
A wonderful challenge in the box from Rugani was all that prevented Juve doubling their advantage, the young defender underlining the quality which has seen him signed permanently by the Bianconeri, a fact the club’s director general Beppe Marotta confirmed to Sky Italia before the game (h/t Football Italia ).
Indeed, the only sour note for the Turin side came with just a few minutes remaining, as Vidal struggled following an awkward landing. Allegri quickly replaced him with Simone Pepe. The Chilean had been superb once again, and losing him—particularly given the already injury-ravaged nature of the midfield—does not bear thinking about given their upcoming matches.
That made the decision to take off the 27-year-old fully understandable, and Roberto Pereyra added a second goal in stoppage time to deliver three more points in the quest for a fourth consecutive league title.
Bigger games lie in wait, but Juventus—inspired by the in-form Tevez—once again took care of business here, and the relentless march continues.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1xORd7Y
via IFTTT April 04, 2015 at 02:21PM
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