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#ChievoJuve: the numbers behind the points

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#ChievoJuve: the numbers behind the points
#ChievoJuve: the numbers behind the points
#ChievoJuve: the numbers behind the points

Key names

Before delving into the match statistics, when considering any individual feats and landmarks from Sunday, once again there is only one place from which to start: Gianluigi Buffon.

While the skipper's 600th Serie A appearance, the fourth player in history to reach such an impressive figure (Paolo Maldini, Javier Zanetti and Francesco Totti), did not end with a clean sheet, our number one was at least toasting a third consecutive victory along with his team-mates in Verona.

At the other end, Mario Mandzukic deservedly netted his second league goal of the campaign after an all-action performance in the inside left position, the Croatian benefiting once again from an assist from fellow wide man Juan Cuadrado.

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The day's other scorer Miralem Pjanic, meanwhile, justified his reputation as one of the world game's most accurate dead-ball specialists after curling home his 12th free-kick since arriving in Serie A in 2011, more than any other player in the same period. Pjanic's 84 touches and 59 forward passes made him Juve's leading distributor on the day.

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Just behind the Bosnian in the passing stakes was Medhi Benatia, the Moroccan producing a rock-solid showing in defence, completing 58 passes, winning two tackles and making four interceptions.

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Key numbers

As ever, looking more closely at the game's key numbers reveals that perhaps the Bianconeri might have won by more than they did in Verona. Massimiliano Allegri's men were typically precise on the ball, completing 85.8 per cent of their attempted passes (514), with a 59.1 per cent share of possession.

The result was a Chievo defence that was at times overrun; for the record, yesterday's total of 17 shots for Juve was the most Rolando Maran's charges have faced all season.

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Defensively, the penalty aside, one single save from Buffon on substitute Sergio Pellissier's close-range effort was the captain's only meaningful intervention of the day, thanks to stout rearguard action from Benatia and Leonardo Bonucci who replaced the injured Andrea Barzagli after just five minutes, the quickest substitution in the division this term.

The most important number of all however is 30: with 10 wins and two defeats from the opening 12 matches, Juve sit top of Serie A going into November's international break having already faced all of last season's top 10.

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