Bianconeri back to winning ways against Atalanta

The Bianconeri bounced back in style from last weekend’s reverse to Genoa with a convincing 3-1 win this evening against Atalanta at Juventus Stadium.

Strikes by Alex Sandro and Daniele Rugani saw Juve do most of the damage in a frenetic, four-minute spell in the first half they largely dominated before Mario Mandzukic continued his rich scoring form with a fourth goal in six games shortly after the hour-mark.

There would be time for Atalanta, coming into this game on the back of six straight wins, to find the target themselves when Remo Freuler hooked in from close range in the 82nd minute.

That strike, however, would prove to be a mere consolation for the visitors, as Juve held firm for an all-important victory that puts them seven points clear of second-placed Roma ahead of tomorrow’s fixtures.

A strong start by the Bianconeri was soon rewarded with the game’s opener on the quarter-hour mark when Alex Sandro darted past three Atalanta players before unleashing a low shot past a helpless Marco Sportiello for his maiden strike of the season.

Then just four minutes later, the hosts doubled their lead when Rugani nodded home from a corner on his first start since returning from injury.

Miralem Pjanic’s firm free-kick almost caught out a busy Sportiello as Juve kept their foot on the gas right up until half-time and they would kick off the second period strongly too, Mandzukic seeing a shot blocked in the 48th minute.

Claudio Marchisio, enjoying a fine game in the middle tonight, also saw an effort from distance tipped around the post, before Mandzukic headed into the top corner to effectively kill off the contest with almost half an hour still to play.

The only negative to emerge from an otherwise superlative performance was that of not keeping a clean sheet courtesy of Freuler’s smart volley into Gianluigi Buffon’s bottom corner.

That moment aside, Allegri and company can be more than content with a very good night’s work as attentions now turn to Wednesday’s Champions League tie at home to Dinamo Zagreb.