Juventus 3-0 Cagliari: Record breaking Bianconeri sign off in style

Date: 18th May 2014 at 5:10pm
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Juventus were 3-0 winners over Cagliari in Serie A on Sunday afternoon at the Juventus Stadium, in the final game of their title winning season.

Goals from Andrea Pirlo, Fernando Llorente and Claudio Marchisio ensured the Old Lady secured all three points and reached the coveted 102 points record in Serie A.

The hosts started the more brightly in the party atmosphere of the Juventus Stadium. Labouring on the ball, Carlos Tevez stole the ball off Davide Astori, but his strike was scooped up comfortably by Marco Silvestri. After eight minutes, the home side were ahead courtesy of more Andrea Pirlo magic. Luca Rossettini fouled Fernando Llorente on the edge of the area and the Italian international’s curling free kick clattered in off the crossbar after the initial save from Silvestri.

After a quarter of an hour, Cagliari’s panicking defense was undone once again. The Sardinians failed to clear the ball from a corner and Llorente tapped home his 16th of the season. As Juventus began taking their foot off the gas, Cagliari sought to trouble Gianluigi Buffon at the other end. Daniele Dessena found himself all alone in the box and forced Buffon into making a quick reaction save. However the lapse in concentration was fleeting as Juventus continued to dominate the match.

Just before half time, the downpour of goals resumed when Llorente flicked the ball up for Claudio Marchisio, who took it on the turn and blasted it past Silvestri on the half volley in spectacular fashion. Minutes later the overworked Cagliari goalkeeper got down brilliantly to parry away Kwadwo Asamoah’s fierce long shot before the whistle signaled half time.

At the restart, Cagliari did their very best to get on the scoresheet, and thought they would be helped when Rubinho replaced Buffon at half time, but the Brazilian proved just as stubborn. Goal scorer Llorente also made way for Pablo Osvaldo, for what could be his last Juventus appearance. The Sardinians wanted desperately to halt the hosts flood of goals, and in fact succeeded in doing so, holding a contented Juventus team to the final whistle. Celebrations followed the final whistle as Juventus broke the points record in Serie A.

Antonio Conte bows out the season in the best possible fashion, earning the club it’s third consecutive title with just two defeats all season. With speculation rife over the Italians future, it’s unclear where he will be next season, but for now he will be content in celebrating Juventus’ success.

Ivo Pulga closes the season on a sour note with this the third consecutive defeat for his Cagliari team. President Massimo Cellino may not be the club’s owner the next time these two meet, but fans will feel it’s the right direction to be heading in. Daniele Conti’s future is similarly unclear ahead of what should be a routinely difficult transfer window for the Rossoblu.

Follow Louis Gibberd-Thomas on Twitter: @mercutio156

 

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