02 October 2018
For the first match of the season in which Juventus had to do without Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala was waiting to step up to the plate. Not that his class and confidence have been missing in previous fixtures, although the way he put the game to bed after 30 minutes was as good as it gets from the Argentine. The Bianconeri will face stiffer opposition in Europe than Young Boys this season, but the Swiss outfit had enough stamina and physicality to prevent Massimiliano Allegri from underestimating this encounter. The team’s professional attitude, coupled with La Joya’s talent, meant this game was all Juventus from the start.
BONUCCI TO DYBALA, A WINNING COMBINATION!
Juventus struck gold on virtually their first foray forward, when Leonardo Bonucci found himself with the ball at his feet just inside Young Boys’ half after five minutes. The centre-back lifted his head and clipped a sublime 40-metre pass over the Swiss defence, the ball dropping perfectly for Dybala to volley home into the corner.
LA JOYA STRIKES AGAIN!
The early lead meant the Bianconeri took their foot off the gas slightly and Miralem Sulejmani worked himself into a one-on-one with Wojciech Szczesny, rounding the onrushing keeper and crossing from the byline. Blaise Matuidi’s intervention was as timely as they come, getting to the ball before Guillaume Hoarau and robbing the Reunionese forward of a strike into an empty net. Young Boys were certainly game, their five midfielders working hard to close down space and cut off passing lines, although it was clear Juve had the tools to unpick them. Both Bonucci and Miralem Pjanic were looking to spread the ball wide to get the wingers and full-backs into play, such as when Alex Sandro laid it off for Federico Bernardeschi to strike from the edge of the area, or when Bernardeschi himself picked out Dybala in the box, but Paulo couldn’t deflect the cross into the net.
There were no problems with the Argentine’s aim in the 33rd minute: in a move that started inside the Bianconeri half, Dybala picked up the ball in an advanced position, played it to Juan Cuadrado and then drifted into an attacking position, just as David von Ballmoos spilled a fierce Matuidi shot into his path. An easy finish into an unguarded net for our No.10 to make it 2-0.
A SPECTACULAR HAT-TRICK
Juve almost made it 3-0 immediately after the restart: in the 48th minute Bernardeschi won the ball in midfield before advancing to the 18-yard line and offloading for Dybala, whose shot cannoned off the upright.
Every time Young Boys ventured forward, the danger was swiftly averted, while the Bianconeri looked like scoring with every attack. Pjanic nearly found the net with a volley from 18 yards that had Von Balmoos rooted, then Bernardeschi attempted to slalom his way through the Swiss defence, when Dybala was ideally positioned for a simple finish.
Nevertheless, Paulo’s hat-trick goal came shortly afterwards, crowning off a lovely team move: Alex Sandro, Emre Can, Mario Mandzukic and Cuadrado all exchanged sharp one-touch passes before the Colombian squared for his fellow South American to slot home from a couple of yards.
Mohamed Camara made life harder for Gerardo Seoane’s team when he picked up his second yellow card in the 78th minute, but with the points already secured, Juventus had no need to press further. Instead, academy prospect Moise Kean was given 15 minutes to impress, coming on in place of Mandzukic.
Juventus thus pick up their ninth win in nine matches this season and strengthen their grip on top spot in Group H of the Champions League, with six points already in the bag and a significant step to the knock-out stages taken.
JUVENTUS 3-0 YOUNG BOYS 2 (HT: 2-0)
Scorers: Dybala 5, 33, 78. JUVENTUS Szczesny; Barzagli, Bonucci, Benatia; Cuadrado, Matuidi (Emre Can 46), Pjanic, Bernardeschi, Alex Sandro; Dybala, Mandzukic (Kean 75).
Subs not used: Perin, Cancelo, Chiellini, Khedira, Bentancur. Coach: Allegri.
YOUNG BOYS Von Ballmoos; Schick, Camara, Von Bergen, Benito; Fassnacht, Sow, Sanogo (Lauper 46), Bertone, Sulejmani; Hoarau. Subs nos used: Wolfi, Garcia, Assale, Aebischer, Nsame, Ngamaleu. Coach: Seoane. REFEREE: Karasev (RUS). ASSISTANTS: Demeshko (RUS), Lunev (RUS). FOURTH OFFICIAL: Averianov (RUS). ADDITIONAL ASSISTANTS: Ivanov (RUS), Moskalev (RUS). BOOKED: Bertone 24, Sanogo 42.
