11 March 2016
With one touch and a flick of his left foot shortly after the half-hour mark, Paulo Dybala had already done enough to secure Juventus’ crucial 1-0 victory over Sassuolo this evening, their eleventh in a row on home turf and one that keeps them on course for a fifth consecutive Scudetto.
Whatever happens this season, it will be one to savour for Dybala whose decisive intervention yielded a 14th league strike of the season, overtaking his previous record of 13 registered in the colours of Palermo last year.
Speaking to the media after the game, the Argentine was quick to point out that for all its potential importance in the title race, tonight’s effort won’t go down as his best ever career goal.
He began, “I’ve actually scored better goals and I netted a few like tonight’s while I was at Palermo. That said, I caught it beautifully and I’m proud that it was that shot that decided the match.”
In a keenly contested encounter, La Joya’s moment of brilliance was indeed all that separated the two teams in the end and for Dybala, credit for the competitive nature of the 90 minutes must go to a determined and well-organised Sassuolo side, who still stand as the last team to have defeated Juventus in the league in 19 matches.
“Sassuolo are showing everyone just how good they are at the moment. They have an excellent coach and play very good football. We tailed off a bit in the second half and allowed them back into the tie but held on for a massive three points.”
In summary, tonight’s performance was one built on the same fighting spirit and defensive solidity that has seen the champions fly in the face of their early season critics to top Serie A by six points with nine games remaining.
“After our loss (against Sassuolo) in Reggio Emilia in October, no one gave us a chance of competing for the title. Everyone had written us off and now here we are. We will have to wait and see what happens in the remaining fixtures this weekend but we will still be top, in a cup final and with a great test against Bayern Munich just around the corner.”
Onwards and upwards for Dybala and co.
