December 06, (THEWILL) – After a 2-0 win over Genoa, Juventus moved up to fifth place in Serie A giving their fans and manager some more to cheer about with the same scoreline from their last victory against Salernitana last Tuesday.
Juve missed multiple goalscoring opportunities on the night and were stopped numerous times by Salvatore Sirigu’s heroics in the Genoa goal. But, Juan Cuadrado’s remarkable goal direct from a corner in the ninth minute and a drilled shot from Paulo Dybala in the 82nd proved the difference.
These back-to-back victories in the last week have put the Old Lady nine points behind league leaders AC Milan.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the fortunes of Andriy Shevchenko. His hunt for his first win as Genoa manager continues as his team lost their third match in a row. Genoa is still in 18th place, two points from safety.
The visitors failed to muster a shot on goal in the first half as Juve dominated possession and attacking power from the first minute. Cuadrado’s inswinging corner cross looped over Salvatore Sirigu and into the net via the far post gave Allegri’s side the lead.
Juve pressed for a second, forcing Sirigu into a brilliant double stop. Before blocking Alvaro Morata’s close-range rebound, the former Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper denied Mattijs De Ligt’s thunderous point-blank header.
On the stroke of half-time, the Spain striker lost another excellent chance to expand Juve’s lead when he slid in to meet Dybala’s low cross, but Sirigu was there to save the shot.
Sirigu was called into action once more in the 53rd minute as Juventus looked shaky in front of goal. The 34-year-old made a fantastic reflex stop to keep Morata’s close-range shot out. The hardworking goalkeeper was earning his pay as he made another double save ten minutes later, stopping Cuadrado’s volley and a close-range Morata attempt.
The relief was evident in the Allianz Stadium when Dybala’s drove his strike into the bottom corner with eight minutes remaining.
Up next for Allegri’s side is UEFA champions league football on Wednesday when they host Malmo ahead of a trip to Venezia in Serie A on Saturday. On Friday, Genoa hosts Sampdoria in the Derby della Lanterna.
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.
