Juventus defeated Lazio 4-1 on Saturday evening in Turin.
The Bianconeri roared to a 2-0 lead early in the match thanks to an Arturo Vidal double, only for Miroslav Klose to cut the lead in half. The reigning Serie A champions restored their two goal lead early in the second half through Mirko Vucinic with Carlos Tevez icing the match 11 minutes before time.
The first chance of the match fell to Hernanes about two minutes in, lashing a left footed shot to Buffon’s near post only to see the Italian number one parry it away for the match’s first corner.
The Italian champions responded quickly as a beautiful over-the-top ball from Andrea Pirlo landed directly in front of Vucinic, only to see Cana do just enough to put Vucinic off.
Eight minutes in, Juventus were denied a penalty when it appeared that Tevez was knocked off the ball by Lorik Cana, however, the referee waived off the Juventus players.
Juventus struck first in the 14th minute after spectacular build up play led to Vidal’s first goal of the season. Paul Pogba beautifully released Vidal into the area, and all the Chilean needed to do was flick the ball into the open net, negating Lazio’s decent start in the first quarter of an hour.
Six minutes later Antonio Candreva nearly tied the match with a dipping long range strike that Buffon could only force out for a corner. The shot looked to be an anomaly as Juventus continued to pick Lazio apart through Pogba, Vucinic, Vidal, and Tevez.
Vidal scored his second in the 26th minute, running into the area on to a Leonardo Bonucci long ball, and finding himself all alone in front of Marchetti. Just two minutes later Lazio pulled on back via Klose, who pounced on Hernanes’s rebounded shot before the Bianconeri defence could clear it away.
The goal put a spark of life back into Lazio as they attempted to reassert themselves back into the match, testing Buffon from distance on more than one occasion. Through the first half Candreva and Hernanes proved to be Lazio’s most dangerous players, taking the Juve defence on in addition to troubling Buffon with their long distance shots.
Four minutes into the second half, Juventus restored their two goal lead through Vucinic. Another Bonucci long ball found Vucinic’s run on the right hand side of the box. The Montenegrin international then slotted the ball past Marchetti into the far post for his first goal of the new campaign.
After the goal, Juventus regained the momentum they had lost late in the first half, cooly maintaining possession with the two goal cushion as they started to take their foot off the gas pedal.
Things got worse for Lazio when Hernanes received his marching orders for a second yellow card after purposely handling the ball in the box in the 63rd minute. With Lazio down to 10 men, the match slowed in its pace as Juventus’s continued to dominate possession.
Tevez nearly got his second of the season when he smacked the woodwork in the 71st minute from a strike outside the penalty area. Eight minutes later, the former Manchester City star would redeem himself, scoring the fourth of the match from just outside the area after a neat dummy from Vucinic.
The resounding win for Juventus threw down the gauntlet for the upcoming Derby D’Italia against Inter on September 15, after the international break.
