30 December 2017
Before the clock struck midnight on 2017, Paulo Dybala gave us one final moment to remember in his breakout year. La Joya scored a quick-fire double in the 72nd and 77th minutes to help Juventus down Hellas Verona 3-1 at the Stadio Bentegodi on Saturday night.
It didn’t take long for the Bianconeri to take the lead scoring their earliest goal so far this Serie A season. In the 6th minute, Gonzalo Higuain found some space letting a shot fly that hit the inside of the post with the rebound falling straight to Blaise Matuidi.
The French international was able to finish into the far corner to score in his second straight Juventus road match giving his side a 1-0 lead.
The Bianconeri nearly doubled the advantage in the 19th minute as Higuain stepped up to a free kick from about 25 yards out and curled a shot that half the crowd thought was in, but could only find the side netting.
Higuain nearly scored again in the 40th minute latching onto the end of an Alex Sandro cross but his shot from eight yards out was straight at Nicolas who miraculously kept it out of the net.
In the second half, the hosts would pull level just about on the hour mark through a former Bianconero. Martin Caceres latched onto a turnover and found the back of the net from 20 yards out to make it 1-1.
That’s when Paulo Dybala would hit another gear scoring a spectacular five-minute double salvo to earn the points for Juventus. In the 72nd minute, Sami Khedira slid a through-ball into Stephan Lichtsteiner with the right back sending a cross into the box. Dybala was there to pounce finishing emphatically to restore Juve’s lead.
With the confidence flowing through him, the Argentine would dribble through the Verona defense to score his second goal of the match and Juve’s third in the 77th minute to put the match to bed.
The win moves Massimiliano Allegri’s side to within a point of Napoli at the end of the first half of the Serie A season. Juve returns to the pitch on Wednesday night at Allianz Stadium against Torino in the quarterfinals of the TIM Cup while they’ll play at Cagliari on 6 January in the final match before the two-week winter break.
