March 20, (THEWILL) – Juventus bounced back from their UEFA Champions League defeat in midweek with a 2-0 win over Serie A bottom side Salernitana to keep their narrow Scudetto hopes alive.
The hosts were able to calm the nerves in the Allianz Stadium after barely four minutes. Paulo Dybala was set free after a neat move involving Juan Cuadrado and Dusan Vlahovic on the corner of the penalty box.
The Argentine beat his marker with a deft check inside and fired his finish in off the near post. When he grabbed onto a Cuadrado cross-field pass eight minutes later, the Argentine could have increased Juve’s lead. However, he chose to hit his shot past the crossbar and over Salernitana goalie Luigi Sepe.
The home side was cruising, and Vlahovic also came close to extending their lead in the 20th minute. After being helped through by Luca Pellegrini’s lofted pass, Dybala was unselfish and laid the ball into the path of his strike partner, but the Serbian’s chipped finish was swiftly smothered by Sepe.
However, just six minutes later, the January signing was wheeling away in delight after doubling Juve’s lead. Mattia De Sciglio received a delightful cross from the right flank, rising above Pasquale Mazzocchi to divert his header into the bottom corner.
With Juventus in command, it took the entrance of Simone Verdi in the second half for Salernitana to regain their composure. Working the ball onto his preferred foot at the edge of the penalty box, the winger forced a fantastic diving stop from Wojciech Szczesny to keep the two-goal lead.
On the counter-attack, the Old Lady remained a constant threat, with Vlahovic coming near from a tight angle before Pellegrini deflected De Sciglio’s cross over the crossbar.
Salernitana had their own chance too as Federico Bonazzoli hit Milan Djuric’s headed knockdown swiftly on the first-time volley but Szczesny made an acrobatic save to preserve his clean sheet.
When referee Giovanni Ayroldi blew his full-time whistle, Juve appeared to be in no danger of losing their lead, having closed to within a point of Inter in third place, whom they will meet after the international break.
Meanwhile, Salernitana is still in last place, with nine games without a win, and will face Torino next.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
