17 April 2016
Juventus added further fuel to their title charge with another important three points by beating Palermo 4-0 on Sunday afternoon at Juventus Stadium.
Massimiliano Allegri’s men made a lively start to proceedings and duly got their noses in front thanks to Sami Khedira’s extremely well-taken goal in the 10th minute.
The hosts would continue to pile on the pressure after the break and eventually put the game beyond the Rosanero thanks to strikes in the final 20 minutes by Paul Pogba (70), Juan Cuadrado (74) and Simone Padoin (89), recording a win that puts them nine points ahead of Napoli with five matches remaining.
In this latest victory (the 22nd from 23 matches), the Bianconeri had their tails up from the very beginning, not least Khedira who struck just wide of the mark as early as the fourth minute, following up Pogba’s blocked effort.
Only six minutes later, the German midfielder was celebrating a brilliant goal as he latched on to Pogba’s lofted through ball and controlled with his chest before rifling past a helpless Stefano Sorrentino to register his fifth Serie A strike.
Bright and purposeful in possession, Juve might well have doubled their lead in the 27th minute when Pogba caught Cuadrado’s cross on the volley and only the crossbar prevented the Frenchman from extending his side’s lead.
For all of the hosts’ dominance, however, Palermo were soon presented with a golden opportunity to draw level when Aleksandar Trajkovski was played in behind the Bianconeri backline and beat Gigi Buffon with his shot only to find Andrea Barzagli making the crucial block on the line.
As the first 45 minutes drew to a close, Khedira too would do his part defensively, throwing himself in front of Ivalyo Chochev’s drive, deflecting it inches outside of Buffon’s right post.
The flurry of activity would then shift down to Juve’s final third, as Patrice Evra beat his marker to head Paulo Dybala’s cross narrowly wide of Sorrentino’s gaping net.
Having enjoyed 70 per cent of possession in the first half, the Bianconeri continued to dictate the flow of the game after the interval and very nearly added to their advantage in their 57th minute when Pogba intelligently opted to take his free-kick early and almost caught an advanced Sorrentino unawares as the ball dipped only just over the bar.
Moments later, midfield colleague Mario Lemina, on as a substitute for the injured Claudio Marchisio, tried his luck too from range and brought a smart save from the visiting keeper with his angled effort.
Allegri’s charges were doing all of the attacking by this point, as Juan Cuadrado’s menacing cross was knocked out for a corner before reaching the dangerously lurking Mario Mandzukic who saw his header drift wide from the resulting set-piece.
Needless to say, the hosts had fashioned enough chances to double their lead, but they would go on to triple it between the 70th and 74th minutes of the match.
Lively all afternoon, Pogba capped off another fine performance by poking home from a corner at the back post.
Then, Cuadrado weaved his magic down the right wing, leaving his markers for dead before unleashing an unstoppable strike to the right of Sorrentino.
By now the Bianconeri were in cruise control and there was even time for substitute Padoin to add gloss to the scoreline. The utility man raced onto Alvaro Morata’s perfectly weighted pass and slid stylishly into the bottom corner.
Allegri and company now approach the final five fixtures from a position of considerable strength, nine points clear of second-placed Napoli. Three of those remaining games are played at Juventus Stadium, the first of which falls this very Wednesday evening against Simone Inzaghi’s Lazio.
JUVENTUS
Buffon, Barzagli, Bonucci, Rugani, Cuadrado, Khedira (Padoin 79), Marchisio (Lemina 16), Pogba, Evra, Mandzukic (Morata 67), Dybala
Unused substitutes: Rubinho, Audero, Lichtsteiner, Alex Sandro, Sturaro, Hernanes, Asamoah
Coach: Allegri
PALERMO
Sorrentino; Goldaniga (La Gumina 73), Gonzalez, Andelkovic; Rispoli, Hiljemark, Jajalo (Brugman 60), Chochev, Lazaar; Vazquez, Trajkovski
Unused substitutes: Posavec, Alastra, Vitiello, Gilardino, Balogh, Struna, Cristante, Maresca, Morganella, Pezzella
Coach: Ballardini
