Juventus overcame an organized and resilient Cagliari 4-1 to continue their winning ways atop Serie A.
Mauricio Pinilla scored the lone goal for the home side. Fernando Llorente scored two while Claudio Marchisio and Stephen Lichtsteiner added goals for league-leading Juventus.
The visitors came to Sardinia on the strength of their 3-0 demolition of their closets challengers, Roma, last weekend. Playing in front of only 4,800 spectators at the Stadio Sant’Elia due safety concerns amid the ongoing construction created a surreal atmosphere.
When Mauricio Pinilla slotted home a shot from a corner kick to give Calgiari an early lead in the 21st minute things got even more surreal for the visitors considering that Juve had conceded only one goal in their previous 10 matches. The goal seemed to spring the Rossoblu into life.
Martin Caceres, replacing a suspended Andrea Barzagli on the Juve back line picked up the first yellow card of the match with a poorly timed challenge shortly after the restart. Pinilla and Marco Sau peppered Gianluigi Buffon with threatening shots, testing his awareness at the empty end of the stadium.
However, with the game opening up more than perhaps Diego Lopez planned for, Juventus struck back in the 31st minute through Llorente. The Spainard headed past his countrymen, Antonio Adan, from a Stephan Lichtsteiner cross. Juventus had made several runs down the right side and created several good chances earlier in the half, finally capitalizing on this occasion.
The second half began much like the closing minutes of the first 45, Juventus using Lichtsteiner down the right flank to push forward and open up the middle for Llorente and Carlos Tevez and Cagliari despite their recent struggles to score goals displaying a more aggressive attitude, pressing for turnovers and pressing towards Buffon’s goal.
Pinilla, the Sardinian’s best threat all day long, could have put them ahead in the 63rd minute when he missed badly after Buffon had failed to clear. Both managers sought to liven up their attack shortly thereafter. Antonio Conte replaced Andrea Pirlo with Claudio Marchisio while Lopez added Victor Ibarbo for Sau. Conte’s move proved the wiser.
Marchisio, seemingly from nothing, laced a ball into the top corner from 30 yards out merely nine minutes after coming on. Conte nearly tackled his assistants along the touchline as the Old Lady finally broke the Sardinian deadlock. David Moyes, watching from the tribune, hunting for January transfer midfield talent, must have been impressed as well.
Llorente and Lichtsteiner combined late on for the third and fourth goals for the visitors, inflating the scoreline beyond a reflection of the determined Cagliari effort. Llorente easily slotted home the third in the 76th, unmarked at the far post from a precise cross from the Swiss international and Lichtsteiner closed the scoring, punching in a loose rebound from Adan after a Llorente shot in the 80th minute.
With Roma cruising to victory over Genoa this Sunday match day, Juve maintains their seemingly unsurmountable lead in the league. However the two title contenders are set for an anticipated Coppa Italia quarterfinal clash in less than two weeks time.
