25 June 2017
Juventus ended January exactly as they had began it with a commanding win and another clean sheet at the Mapei Stadium againtst Sassuolo.
Defeat to Fiorentina in the second league fixture of 2017 had temporarily threatened to throw the champions off course but a switch to a more aggressive 4-2-3-1 system had contributed heavily to bounce-back victories over Lazio and Milan in the cup.
And so, the Bianconeri maintained their winning momentum in style in Reggio Emilia on Matchday 22 as two well-taken goals within the opening in the 20 minutes from Sami Khedira and Gonzalo Higuain swept aside Sassuolo with ease.
The first strike was the first sign of the new dynamism down the Juve left created by the presence of Mario Mandzukic and Alex Sandro.
The Croatian's superb back-heel sent the Brazilian charging down the flank before delivering a perfect cross to Higuain to poke home in the centre, his eighth goal in six league games at the time.
Six minutes later, the contest was all but over: Higuain charged down Paolo Cannavaro's clearance and squared for strike partner Dybala. The Argentine's presence of mind saw him let the ball run through his legs for Khedira to lash into the corner on the run.
Gianluigi Buffon was nothing more than a spectator for the remainder of the afternoon as Juve marched into February in formidable form.
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