Match Report: Juventus vs Spal (25.10.2017)

A slightly rotated Juventus side welcomed Spal to the Allianz stadium, Szczesny taking the place of Buffon in goal, along with Rugani, Bernardeschi, Bentancur and Douglas Costa all in the starting 11. Juventus started the match brightly and received their early rewards for going forward as Berardeschi hit a stunning volley from a Douglas Costa flick on, smashing the ball beyond Spal keeper Gomis. Eight minutes later it was Paula Dybala’s turn, curling the ball in from 25 yards out to make it 2-0 in the opening 22 minutes. The Bianconeri were in no mood to mess about as they dominated the majority of the first half, at least they did up until Spal scored a goal out of nowhere, Juventus switching off during a Spal corner kick, allowing Mattiello plenty of time and space on the edge of box to find Paloschi in front of goal for the tap in, despite Lichsteiner appearing more interested in wrestling the striker rather than simply defend.

Nine minutes into the second half there would be confusion and deep breathes taken by Juventus fans, again the move beginning from a Spal corner kick, the ball finding its way to Paloschi who hit the bar from close range, only to see Marios Oikonomou head the ball in from the rebound. It appeared to be all level at 2-2, that was until VAR came into play and eventually ruled out the goal for offside. The early warning signs appeared have snapped Juventus out of there half time daze, finally breaking down a resilient Spal for the 4^th goal of the night, blasting the ball into the net from the near post to restore the two goal cushion for Juventus, five minutes later there would be no doubt over the result, as Dougla Costa once again assisting, this time whipping the ball into the area to be met by Cuadrado with the diving header. Fan favourite Claudio Marchisio would make his return to the Allianz stadium, recovering from a knee injury that saw the midfielder miss 10 games of the season. In the dying minutes of match Marchisio assisted Higuain for what would have been the Argentines 100^th goal in SerieA, had it not been ruled out for offside as the game ended 4-1

Talking points: Juventus look good going forward but still shaky when it comes to keeping the ball out of their own net. Both Spal goals came from poorly defended corners and that is an issue that needs to be addressed. A trend that is becoming all too familiar is Juventus inability to hit the ground running after Half time, conceding early on into the second half just like the previous fixture against Udinese. Had it not been for VAR the score-line may well have been 2-2. Douglas Costa once again performed well and shows why he should be in the starting 11 more often. Overall despite a few scares Juventus dominated the match and produced the goods when required, but as usual needs work in defence.

FULL TIME RESULT: Juventus 4-1 Spal

GOAL SCORERS: Bernardeschi (14), Dybala (22), Paloschi (34) Higuain, (65) Cuadrado (70)