03 July 2017
Fresh from his brace in midweek against Napoli in the Coppa Italia, Gonzalo Higuain was the star of the show at Juventus Stadium as he notched another pair of strikes either side of half-time to hand the hosts three precious points in their pursuit of a sixth successive Scudetto title.
Both goals, unmistakably Pipita-esque for their predatory fashion, mean that the Argentine forward took his tally to 26 for the season in all competitions, as his side moved six points clear of nearest rivals Roma with seven league fixtures remaining.
Early pressure pays off
The Bianconeri might have been in action twice in only the previous six days (both times against Napoli, first in the league and then in the Coppa Italia semi-finals), but they showed no signs of lethargy in the early stages of this match.
Sami Khedira blasted an effort straight at Andrea Seculin after 17 minutes and the Chievo stopper was called into action again moments later by a rasping Paulo Dybala drive that looked destined to finish in the top corner.
On 23 minutes however, the hosts had made the breakthrough: Dybala cut the ball back to Higuain who swept mercilessly into the bottom corner to bring up his 20th league strike of the season.
Pipita puts game to bed
After the interval, Pipita sent a blistering shot inches wide of Seculin’s post from the edge of the area, Stefano Sturaro saw his powerful shot blocked, Dybala struck whiskers to the wrong side of the upright and Higuain somehow missed the target from just a few yards out, as Juve kept banging on the door in a bid to put the game beyond Chievo once and for all.
Valter Birsa’s venomous volley, fortunately aimed straight at Buffon, served as a reminder with 10 minutes left that the match was far from over. That is until Higuain bagged his second of the evening in typically predatory fashion.
Following some dazzling build-up play from Dybala, who played in Stephan Lichtsteiner down the right, Pipita picked up the Swiss Express’ cross inside the six-yard box, coolly sidestepped the keeper before burying home to the delight of the sellout crowd at Juventus Stadium.
Game, set, match and now a healthy lead over their nearest title challengers.
MAIN MATCH STATS
WHAT THEY SAID
BEST MATCH SNAPS
THE LEAGUE TABLE
