Big names deliver as Juventus overcome defensive scares to see of Sassuolo

Date: 10th February 2019 at 7:55pm
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Juventus beat Sassuolo 3-0 at the Mapei Stadium on Sunday night to extend their lead at the top of the Serie A table to 11 points.

Sami Khedira broke the deadlock early in the first half before Cristiano Ronaldo and Emre Can made it two and then three in the second to round off the win for the Bianconeri.

Sassuolo started off well, going close to scoring as Filip Djuricic was stopped by Wojciech Szczesny, who brought down the striker as well as getting a touch of the ball. It was decided that there would be no penalty, though, after the VAR review.

Juve then found the lead as Khedira tapped in from close range on 23 minutes after Cristiano Ronaldo’s shot had been saved by Andrea Consigli.

It was Khedira again to scare Sassuolo with a header just wide in the final minutes of the first half.

The biggest chance for Sassuolo came on 55 minutes, as a horrible mistake by Szczesny opened up the goal for Domenico Berardi who incredibly fired wide with his left foot.

Ronaldo found his 18th goal of the season to put the game to bed on 70 minutes with a fine header from a corner kick.

Emre Can made it three for the Bianconeri on 86 minutes, having come off the bench only moments before.

Massimiliano Allegri’s men are now 11 points ahead of Napoli in the Serie A table, and will be able to focus on the Champions League.

KHEDIRA THE GOALSCORER
He might not be as mobile as he used to be, but Khedira’s goalscoring ability remains great for a midfielder. He hit the woodwork twice last week against Parma but made no mistake this time, showing what Juve have missed as he was sidelined for most of the season so far. He missed another couple of chances, but his ability to be at the right place at the right time was on show. He could be crucial in this run of games, including in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid.

WOBBLY DEFENCE
Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci are out injured, and Juve have been missing them more than anyone else this season. It didn’t go as badly as in the home draw against Parma, and Martin Caceres and Daniele Rugani are not terrible replacements, but they simply do not offer the security of the usual back two. Tonight Sassuolo could have definitely scored with a bit more accuracy, exposing the issues of having Chiellini and Bonucci sidelined.

TAKE THE CHANCES OR PAY THE PRICE
The Neroverdi created a couple of opportunities and, put simply, you cannot afford to miss them against Juve. Berardi should have scored to equalise in the second half – that is the kind of chance Juve usually just allows once per game. Without taking the chances, Sassuolo eventually crumbled against the superior Bianconeri.

 

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