11 March 2018
There would be no hangover from Wednesday’s Wembley Champions League triumph as the Bianconeri saw off a game Udinese side 2-0 at Allianz Stadium on Sunday afternoon to take their 11th in a row in Serie A.
It was a familiar protagonist as Paulo Dybala continued his red-hot form bagging a brilliant brace to start an important week of league fixtures in style.
After early pressure by the road side, Juve worked their way into the match and nearly took the lead in the 16th minute as Mattia De Sciglio slipped past two defenders before sliding a teasing cross into the box. The effort flashed just out of the reach of Stefano Sturaro crashing the far post.
Minutes later, Juve found the breakthrough as Gonzalo Higuain was fouled 25 yards from goal presenting a perfect opportunity for Dybala from the set piece. La Joya stepped up and curled a left-footed shot into the upper 90 giving goalkeeper Albano Bizzarri no chance.
It’s the third straight match with a goal for the Argentine who now has 16 in 22 Serie A matches this season.
The Bianconeri nearly doubled their advantage in the 36th minute as Dybala was tripped up in the box forcing referee Piero Giacomelli to point to the spot. Higuain stepped up to take the penalty kick, but a brilliant save by Bizzarri low to his right kept the scoreline 1-0 as we reached half-time.
It wouldn’t take long for the HD connection to once again bear fruit as Juve doubled the advantage in the 49th minute. Some expert hold-up play from Higuain saw the Argentine receive a ball in the box with his back to goal and possess it before slipping through Dybala. Juve’s #10 made easy work of the chance from just a few yards out to put Juve up 2-0 with his 17th league goal of the season.
Dybala nearly had his third hat-trick of the season in the 79th minute as a long run by Douglas Costa saw the Brazilian eventually find Dybala streaking down the left side. His hard shot in on goal was well-saved by Bizzarri to keep the score 2-0 which is how it would end.
The 11th-straight Serie A win for the Bianconeri sees them go above Napoli at the top of Serie A with the Partenopei facing Inter at the San Siro later on Sunday night. It’s also an eighth-straight clean sheet for the Bianconeri in the league with Wojciech Szczesny earning his tenth shutout in 14 league matches.
Up next is another Allianz Stadium league tilt as they’ll face Atalanta on Wednesday night at 18.00 CET making up the match that was previously postponed.
