12 January 2019
Goals by Federico Bernardeschi and Moise Kean helped Juve book their place in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals for the 12th consecutive season – yet another record for the Bianconeri.
A strong start and an early lead meant the result was never really in any doubt as Massimiliano Allegri's side hit the ground running again after the winter break, setting themselves up nicely for next week's Super Cup clash with AC Milan in Saudi Arabia.
BERNARDESCHI POUNCES ON DA COSTA ERROR
Moise Kean at the centre of the attack and Leonardo Spinazzola at left-back were the only two changes Allegri made to an otherwise full-strength side. Medhi Benatia was due to start but had to withdraw following a muscle complaint during the warm-up.
The Bianconeri began the game at a high tempo while Bologna were happy to sit back and let the visitors come at them. The approach didn't pay off for the hosts, though, as Juve took the lead inside the first 10 minutes.
Mattia De Sciglio hit a long ball into the box and Angelo Da Costa came out to the edge of his area to claim it but collided with Arturo Calabresi. The ball dropped invitingly for Bernardeschi, who was handed the simple task of firing into an unguarded net. The opener forced Bologna to rethink their plans and come out of their shell, which inevitably left Juve more space to play in and led to a more entertaining encounter.
Emre Can, Sami Khedira and Kean failed to get efforts on targets while Leonardo Bonucci's header was too close to the keeper.
Douglas Costa was proving to be a real handful on the right and often kept two Bologna players busy, freeing up space for De Sciglio to exploit, while Spinazzola was making hay down the opposite flank.
KEAN MAKES IT TWO
Juve had to wait until the restart before they could double their advantage and Kean was name on the score sheet when it came.
Bernardeschi set off from a central position and spread play to Douglas Costa, who cut inside before unleashing a shot which came off Filip Helander, falling conveniently for the young Italian striker. He didn't need asking twice as he pounced and slotted beyond Da Costa.
SUPER CUP NEXT
The 18-year-old made way for Cristiano Ronaldo soon after the hour mark, although there was little left to play for at that point as Juve dealt comfortably with Bologna's meek attempts to find a way back into the contest.
The Bianconeri thus advance to the quarter-finals, where they will meet the winner of Atalanta v Cagliari on Monday. In the meantime, thoughts can turn to Wednesday's Super Cup clash with AC Milan in Jeddah.
BOLOGNA 0-2 JUVENTUS (HT 0-1) SCORERS: Bernardeschi 9, Kean 49. BOLOGNA Da Costa; Calabresi, Danilo, Helander; Mattiello (Orsolini 69), Soriano, Pulgar, Svanberg (Donsah 62), Dijks, Destro (Palacio 77), Sansone. Subs not used: Skorupski, Pirana, Gonzalez, Corbo, De Maio, Mbaye, Krejci, Falcinelli, Okwonkwo. Coach: Inzaghi.
JUVENTUS Szczesny; De Sciglio, Bonucci, Chiellini, Spinazzola (Alex Sandro 80); Khedira, Pjanic, Emre Can; Douglas Costa (Dybala 77), Kean (Ronaldo 62), Bernardeschi. Subs not used: Perin, Pinsoglio, Rugani, Bentancur, Matuidi. Coach: Allegri.
REFEREE: La Penna. ASSISTANTS: Gori, Rossi. FOURTH OFFICIAL: Rapuano. VAR: Calvarese, Lo Cicero. BOOKED: Bernardeschi 30, De Sciglio 44, Emre Can 69, Soriano 82.
