17 September 2017
In his 100th match in a Juventus shirt, Paulo Dybala produced another masterclass with his second hat-trick of the season leading Juventus to continue their perfect start to the Serie A season with a 3-1 win in Reggio Emilia against Sassuolo.
A brilliant curled effort, a cheeky toe-poke and a trademark free kick were on order from the Argentine on Sunday afternoon with Dybala even earning an ovation from the home fans at the end of the match.
Playing their first lunch time kickoff of the season, Juve did not show any signs of malaise coming out of the locker room flying. In the 4th minute, Juve nearly took the lead as Alex Sandro found Cuadrado streaking down the wing. His pass found Miralem Pjanic crashing the top of the box but the midfielder’s shot was well saved by Andrea Consigli.
Gonzalo Higuain came close to opening the scoring in the 10th minute as Sandro’s cross found the Argentine unmarked on the penalty spot. His shot was straight at Consigli with the rebound being cleared moments before Manduzkic could tap it in.
DYBALA FINDS NET
The breakthrough came in the 16th minute through a player celebrating multiple milestones in Reggio Emilia. Playing in his 100th Juve match, Dybala scored his 50th Bianconeri goal in spectacular fashion. La Joya received a pass in the 16th minute from Mario Mandzukic at the top of the box first-timing a left-footed strike into the far corner.
Juve held possession through the majority of the half taking the 1-0 lead into the break.
A match that lacked too many clear-cut chances besides Dybala’s goal in the first half sprung to life straight after the break as Dybala added a second.
The Argentine took a pass in the box and cleverly toe-poked a finish past Consigli in the 48th minute to score his 51st Juventus goal and seventh in the league this season, making it 2-0 to the visitors.
However, Sassuolo would fire right back. Claud Adjapong found space down the wing with his shot deflected past Buffon and tapped into the goal by Matteo Politano pulling the hosts within a goal in the 51st minute.
SEALING THE HAT-TRICK
That would be as close as Sassuolo would get as more Dybala magic put the match to rest. The Argentine drew a free kick about 22 yards from goal in the 63rd minute and in this form, you knew what would happen next. Dybala stepped up and confidently curled the set piece into the goal earning his second hat-trick of the season and second straight on the road.
Dybala now has a league-leading eight goals in just four Serie A matches since taking the number ten shirt with the Argentine given a standing ovation from nearly the entire crowd when he was substituted for Federico Bernardeschi in the 83rd minute.
Sunday’s win starts an important week of three Serie A matches in seven days off on the right foot as Juve moves to a perfect 12 points from four matches to open the season. The Bianconeri are back in action on Wednesday night at Allianz Stadium as they host Fiorentina at 20.45 CEST.
