Top versus bottom in Serie A – a routine home win, right?
Well, yes actually.
This contest went the way pretty much all SBOBET fans and Serie A 2019 betting odds expected.
The contest was over by half-time as the reigning champions flexed their muscles and restored their nine-point advantage at the summit, one that had been briefly cut following Napoli’s exciting win over Lazio 24 hours earlier.
As the main Serie A 2019 news focused on the player they currently deem surplus to requirements, Juventus were quietly efficient against the league’s bottom club to stay well ahead in their bid to claim an eight successive Scudetto.
Highlights of the game
The ‘old lady’ of Turin against the ‘flying donkeys’ is not something you possibly expect on a Monday night in January but that was the scenario in Turin.
This is a club positively thriving under the leadership of skipper Giorgio Chiellini and the brilliance of someone who Chiellini admits broke his dreams many times in recent years but could now help fulfil them.
With Cristiano Ronaldo leading the challenge, no wonder manager Max Allegri is regularly smiling.
In a disconcerting statistic for the visitors going into this encounter, Ronaldo had scored as many goals this season as the entire Chievo squad put together: 14.
Ironically, the first real chance of the contest went to Chievo as Riccardo Meggiorini tested Mattia Perin at his near post.
Thirteen minutes in, however, and it was very much business as usual as the home side went in front.
Ronaldo’s run created space for Douglas Costa to surge through the middle and the Brazilian rifled a fine shot into the bottom corner.
If that was the cue for the floodgates to open it didn’t quite work out like that even if the traffic was largely one-way.
It took some desperate defending to deny Federico Bernardeschi, while Paulo Dybala’s snapshot bounced into the grateful arms of Stefano Sorrentino.
The highly rated veteran shot-stopper showed his worth again on the half hour with Bernardeschi’s shot took a deflection forcing him to readjust his body and parry the ball with his feet.
Just when it seemed Chievo had kept within touching distance of the champions, the hosts scored on the stroke of half-time.
Dybala dribbled at the visiting defence and rolled the ball into the path of Emre Can who made no mistake by stroking it confidently home.
Even without Mario Mandzukic, Juan Cuadrado, Andrea Barzagli, MedhiBenatia, Sami Khedira and the suspended Miralem Pjanic, not to mention Leonardo Bonucci and Wojciech Szczesny who were rested, it was game over.
Sorrentino was again impressive at the start of the second period as he kept out Alex Sandro’s header,yet it seemed only a stay of execution.
Six minutes after the break Mattia Bani was adjudged to have charged down a Costa shot with his hand and, as Ronaldo stepped up, most inside the Allianz Arena expected the Portugal superstar to claim his customary goal.
However, Sorrentino – who turns 40 in March – dived impressively to turn the spot-kick around the post and also show that the irrepressible CR7 is human after all!
If Meggiorini had found the net instead of heading straight at Perin, there may have even been a few nervous moments for the hosts who needed their reserve goalkeeper again to turn away a Luca Rossettini effort.
It was back to the Sorrentino show after that as he made another fine save to beat away a Bernardeschi shot.
Yet it’s hard to keep the champions out and he was finally beaten for a third time with seven minutes remaining.
Bernardeschi delivered a free-kick into the danger zone and Daniele Rugan was unmarked to power a home header from close range.
If Chievo can play like this and take their chances against weaker opposition a great escape may be on the cards.
For now, though, they look certainties for the drop – not helped by their three point penalty – as much as Juventus look certs for yet another championships.
Ultimately, top versus bottom was a routine home win.
Key statistics
Four of the five goals Costa has scored in Serie A this season have come in the opening 25 minutes.
Chievo have lost 13 of their last 14 Serie A meetings with Juventus, drawing 1-1 in September 2015.
This was only Chievo’s second defeat in nine matches.
What’s next?
Juventus have a big game next weekend when they travel to Lazio in Serie A.
It’s then off to Atalanta for the Coppa Italia quarter-final before back to Turin to entertain Parma on February 2.
Chievo host Fiorentina next weekend (January 27) followed by a trip to fellow strugglers Empoli at the start of next month.
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