November 03, (THEWILL) – Juventus advanced to the Champions League knockout stages with a 4-2 win over Zenit St Petersburg in Turin, thanks to a Paulo Dybala brace.
Bernardeschi forced a fine stop from Stanislav Kritsyuk and Dybala hit the post as the Old Lady got off to a flying start at home in the Allianz Stadium in Turin. But when Dybala found space from a corner, his half-volley sailed past Kritsyuk and into the net, as the luck of Zenit backline ran out.
The hosts were on their way to double their lead, but their energy levels dropped for five minutes, and Zenit took advantage of their break in focus.
Vyacheslav Karavayev gained space on the left flank, and his looping cross was met by Leonardo Bonucci, but the ball looped off his head and into the net beyond Wojciech Szczesny’s hopeless reach.
However, Juventus regained control in the second half, with Dybala posing a threat from both inside and outside the area. When Chiesa was tripped within the box by Malcom, he was handed a penalty kick opportunity.
Dybala sent the penalty well wide but was given a second chance as two Zenit players had entered the area, and the Argentine made no mistake the second time, grabbing his second of the game and handing the lead back to Juventus.
And the brilliant Chiesa – a threat all evening – grabbed the goal his performance deserved that helped Juve put the game to bed as he skinned Dejan Lovren and Dmitri Chistyakov before rifling past Kritsyuk.
Morata added a fourth for fun in the last ten minutes to ensure all three points and a place in the last 16 for Juventus, despite Sardar Azmoun’s injury time effort.
Juve is ninth in Serie A as they struggle for some upward mobility, but that struggle has not translated into the UEFA Champions League because they have now qualified for the Champions League knockout stages with 12 points from 12 available.
The competition for the leadership of the group will intensify as Chelsea will also be seeking to top the standings first place.
Zenit, on the other hand, is still in with a chance if they win their next two games and Chelsea loses. But, whatever happens abroad, Juventus is safe and sound at home.
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.
