Juventus completed a perfect week with a hard-fought win over Fiorentina in Serie A. Federico Gatti’s tap-in proved to be enough to secure a third consecutive 1-0 win over the Viola.
A return to winning ways in the league was much needed and despite dominating the chances in the first half, Juve had to dig deep to hold on to the slender advantage against the team from Tuscany.
THE MATCH
Four times Juventus managed to put the ball into the back of the net in the first half against Fiorentina but only one goal separated the sides at the break.
Only five minutes had elapsed Weston McKennie was the first to turn the ball beyond Pietro Terracciano in the Viola goal. No grumbles from the midfielder when his position was confirmed by VAR as being offside.
On 12 minutes the situation for VAR became more complicated. A Filip Kostic cross was met by Federico Gatti inside the six-yard box but the ball slammed off the crossbar. Dusan Vlahovic was the first to react and turned the ball into the unguarded net, only for it to touch Bremer, in an offside position, on its way in.
Third time lucky for the Bianconeri. A corner was majestically met by Bremer, whose header cannoned off the upright. Pouncing this time on the rebound was Gatti. The VAR check this time confirmed the goal was good.
In the 33rd minute, more frustration for Juve. A well worked move kick started by a perfectly timed challenge by Danilo inside his own penalty area saw Federico Chiesa flight a cross onto the head of McKennie. Unselfishly Weston picked out Vlahovic, who slammed the ball home from close range.
Another VAR check, another goal disallowed. This time McKennie was adjudged to have sneaked ahead of the defensive line at the moment of Chieas’s cross.
At the end of the frantic opening 45 minutes Juve were in command but had just one goal to show for it.
The second half was the flip side of the first. Fiorentina dominated possession and as the game wore on created serious problems for the Juve rearguard. Thankfully Wojciech Szczesny was there as the last line of defence.
The keeper made his first save, albeit a comfortable one, on 55 minutes from an Antonin Barak shot. A minute later Nikola Milenkovic desperately slid in to divert an inviting Kostic cross out of the path of the oncoming Juve attack. The Viola defender watched as his clearance almost crept in at the far post.
With twenty minutes remaining Nico Gonzalez wriggled free from Danilo’s marking only to overhit his cross. Four minutes later the Argentine again made space for himself. However, his goal-bound shot was finger-tipped onto the crossbar by Tek.
A jaw-dropping save.
Szczesny, and all the Biaconeri in the stadium , breathed a sigh of relief when he could calmly pluck the ball out of the air with five minutes to play. The keeper had just parried another dangerous cross, which fell to Lucas Beltran, but the forward’s shot spun off his teammate M’Bala Nzola high into the air, for Szczesny to claim.
The first win in five league games was warmly received by all inside the ground at the referee’s full-time whistle, especially as it arrived hot on the heels of the midweek Italian Cup semi-final first leg win over Lazio.
JUVENTUS 1-0 FIORENTINA (HT: 1-0)
Scorer: 21' Gatti
JUVENTUS: Szczęsny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; Cambiaso (75′ Alcaraz), McKennie, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic (58′ Iling Jr); Vlahovic (84′ Kean), Chiesa (58′ Yildiz). Subs not used: Perin, Pinsoglio, De Sciglio, Alex Sandro, Miretti, Weah, Rugani, Djalo, Nicolussi Caviglia. Coach: Allegri.
FIORENTINA: Terracciano; Kayod (82′ Dodò), Milenkovic, Ranieri, Biraghi; Mandragora (45′ Maxime Lopez) , Bonaventura; Nico Gonzalez, Barak (60′ Nzola), Kouamé (60′ Beltran); Belotti (45′ Sottil). Subs not used: Christensen, Arthur, Ikoné, Castrovilli, Infantino, Faraoni, Martinez Quarta, Duncan, Comuzzo, Parisi. Coach: Italiano.
Referee: La Penna
Bookings: 68′ Cambiaso, 84′ Yildiz, 93′ Beltran