25 September 2018
Juve strolled to victory against Bologna in their sixth Serie A match of the campaign – and had the points wrapped up after just 15 minutes.
Paulo Dybala opened his account for the season while Blaise Matuidi added the second in an entirely one-sided affair which sets the Bianconeri up nicely for Saturday's top-of-the-table clash with Napoli.
LA JOYA GETS OFF THE MARK
Mattia Perin was handed his competitive debut between the sticks while Andrea Barzagli and Medhi Benatia lined up either side of Leo Bonucci in a the back three. Juan Cuadrado and Joao Cancelo provided the width in a five-man midfield with Rodrigo Bentancur and Matuidi in the centre and Miralem Pjanic pulling the strings. Cristiano Ronaldo and Dybala started up front.
Bologna's approach to the game was very similar to Frosinone's on Sunday night, with eight or nine men guarding their penalty box, but it didn't take Juve long to threaten. Cancelo fired off an early warning shot before Dybala intercepted Lukasz Skorupski's attempted clearance and hit the side netting.
The goal wasn't long in coming. After a rare foray forward by Bologna, Bonucci launched a raking pass towards Dybala, it came off his back and fell invitingly for Matuidi: his shot was saved by Skorupski but La Joya volleyed home the rebound.
MATUIDI MAKES IT TWO
The Bianconeri doubled their advantage just a few minutes later. Bentancur carried the ball upfield, Cancelo sent a cross over to Ronaldo at the far post, the Portuguese played the ball back across goal where Matuidi gratefully collected it and slammed into the roof of the net.
Two-nil up with just 15 minutes on the clock, Juve could afford themselves the luxury of managing the game without necessarily having to find a way past the Bologna's rearguard, especially since the visitors seemed more concerned about not shipping any more goals than getting themselves back in the match.
Ronaldo went looking for a goal of his own, first firing wide from outside the box and then skipping past Mitchell Dijks only to see his angled effort well saved by Skorupski.
Diego Falcinelli shot wide of Perin's goal before the half was up but that was about all Filippo Inzaghi's men could muster.
ONE-WAY TRAFFIC
A single stat – Juventus' 93.2 % pass completion rate in the first half (slightly less by the end of the game) – was enough to sum up Juve's superiority in the opening 45 minutes. The second half continued in much the same vein, with Cancelo and Dybala in particularly tantalising form, beating their men almost every time they received the ball.
Massmiliano Allegri took the opportunity to rest some legs ahead of the impending fixtures, replacing Pjanic, Cuadrado and Barzagli with Emre Can, Federico Bernardeschi and Alex Sandro during the course of the second period.
Shortly before Allegri's final substitution Dybala played in Ronaldo but the Portuguese's low effort flew agonisingly wide.
The last chance of the game fell to Emre Can – teed up by Ronaldo – in stoppage time but Skorupski was equal to it.
So it ended 2-0 – enough to secure a sixth straight league win and keep Juve top on maximum points going into Saturday's crunch clash with Napoli.
JUVENTUS 2-0 BOLOGNA (HT 2-0) SCORERS: Dybala 11, Matuidi 16.
JUVENTUS
Perin; Barzagli (Alex Sandro 85) Bonucci, Benatia; Cuadrado (Bernardeschi 76), Bentancur, Pjanic (Emre Can 64), Matuidi, Cancelo; Bernardeschi, Ronaldo, Dybala. Subs not used: Szczesny, Pinsoglio, Rugani, Chiellini, Mandzukic. Coach: Allegri. BOLOGNA
Skorupski; Calabresi, Danilo, Paz; Mbaye, Dzemaili, Nagy, Krejci, Dijks (Orsolini 86); Falcinelli (Okwonkwo 68), Destro (Santander 68). Subs not used: Da Costa, Santurro, Gonzalez, Mattiello, Svanberg, De Maio, Valencia. Coach: Inzaghi.
REFEREE: Mariani. ASSISTANTS: Bindoni, De Meo. FOURTH OFFICIAL: Baroni. VAR: Guida, Di Vuolo. BOOKED: Pjanic 33, Paz 37, Danilo 67, Calabresi 71, Cuadrado 74.
