20 March 2016
Juventus secured the Derby Della Mole bragging rights for the third time this season with a convincing 4-1 victory over inter-city rivals Torino on Sunday afternoon at the Stadio Olimpico.
Following a closely competed first half-hour, the Bianconeri eventually broke the deadlock after 33 minutes through Paul Pogba’s well-struck free-kick, his third goal of the season against the Granata.
Nine minutes later, Sami Khedira doubled his side’s advantage, charging into space and beating Daniele Padelli from ten yards out.
Torino halved the deficit in the first minute of the second half, when Andrea Belotti kept his cool from the penalty spot after Alex Sandro’s foul on Bruno Peres in the box, but in the 63rd minute Alvaro Morata was played in brilliantly by Pogba to re-establish Juve’s two-goal lead.
Fourteen minutes later, the Spaniard completed his brace after steering Pogba’s shot past Padelli from close-range to put beyond doubt a result that sees Massimiliano Allegri’s men move six points above second-placed Napoli ahead of their home match against Genoa this evening.
In a lively opening period, both sides rolled up their sleeves and showed the kind of fight typical of derby day without however managing to fashion too much in the way of scoring opportunities.
Having entered the history books for setting a new all-time Serie A record of 930 minutes without conceding, Gigi Buffon would be called into making the game’s first save in the 14th minute, a routine block on Marco Benassi’s low drive from outside the penalty area.
Coming up against a tough Torino rearguard, the Bianconeri were unable to test goalkeeper Padelli and the substitution of their most energetic outlet of the first half-hour Paulo Dybala through injury meant they would have to look elsewhere for attacking inspiration.
In a twist of fate, Pogba stepped up to take a free-kick that would normally have been struck by Dybala and the Frenchman caught the ball perfectly, whipping it over the wall and away from a helpless Padelli.
Then, on 42 minutes, Juve doubled their lead when, upon picking up the ball from deep, Khedira ran into a gaping hole at the heart of the hosts’ defence before sliding into the bottom corner.
This was the German’s fourth goal in the black and white of Juventus and one which put his side well and truly in the driving seat before the break.
Within one minute of the second half, however, Torino halved the deficit Alex Sandro fouled Bruno Peres in the box and Belotti swept home the resulting spot-kick, becoming the first man to beat Buffon in 973 minutes of league action.
Then on 57 minutes, they almost pegged their rivals back when Maxi Lopez bundled home but was adjudged to have done so from an offside position.
Torino had shown plenty of intent to claw their way back into the contest, but their hopes of taking away anything from the match suffered a serious blow in the 63rd minute, when Pogba spun on a sixpence to evade his marker and played a perfect lofted through ball for Morata to guide past Padelli, thus re-establishing the Bianconeri’s two-goal lead. And just 14 minutes later, the Spaniard doubled his personal tally, picking up Pogba’s miscued shot to tuck home from close-range.
Khedira would receive his marching orders late on, forcing the Bianconeri to close out the encounter with ten men, but by that point they had all but secured the victory that takes them to 70 points in the league table.
Today’s triumph sees Allegri’s men head into the international break in good spirits, with their charge towards a fifth consecutive Scudetto to resume when Empoli travel to Juventus Stadium on 2 April.
JUVENTUS
Buffon; Rugani, Bonucci, Barzagli; Lichtsteiner (Cuadrado 49), Lemina, Khedira, Pogba, Sandro; Dybala (Morata 32), Mandzukic (Zaza 85)
Unused substitutes: Neto, Rubinho, Hernanes, Padoin, Asamoah, Sturaro, Evra, Pereyra
Coach: Allegri.
TORINO
Padelli; Maksimovic, Glik, Moretti; Peres, Acquah, Vives, Benassi (Baselli 81), Silva (Zappacosta 76); Immobile (Lopez 46), Belotti
Unused substitutes: Ichazo, Castellazzi, Molinaro, Obi, Bovo, Farnerud, Gazzi, Martinez, Jansson
Coach: Ventura
