19 January 2020
Juventus extended their lead at the top of the Serie A table to four points after they claimed a 2-1 win over Parma at Allianz Stadium on Sunday evening. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace to ensure the Bianconeri would take all three points against the Ducali.
The teams paid homage to Pietro Anastasi who passed away on Friday evening, by observing a minute of silence before kick-off.
RONALDO PROVIDES FIRST-HALF LEAD
The Bianconeri were controlling play from the first whistle and they threatened at goal in the eighth minute when Alex Sandro’s header off a corner narrowly looped over the bar. Kucka then tried an effort of his own from range, but it failed to test Szczesny in goal. Alex Sandro was forced into an early substitution in the 21st minute and he was replaced by Danilo. Cristiano Ronaldo came close to breaking the lead twice in successive occasions with a shot at the near post that was beaten away for a corner, before then directing his header narrowly over the bar. The half lost its rhythm and tempo and the two teams looked set to go into the break goalless, but Cristiano Ronaldo ensured that wasn’t the case when he cut inside the box and took a shot which wrong-footed Sepe to score in his seventh successive Serie A game with 43 minutes on the clock.
PARMA DRAW LEVEL
Juventus came out strong after the break, showing a fresh burst of energy and they nearly broke the deadlock when Danilo launched a shot from ranger that tested Sepe into palming the ball round the post. However Parma, who hadn’t had much action in front of goal throughout the game, turned the scoreline to 1-1 through a glancing header by Cornelius in the 55th minute.
SIIII! CR7 DELIVERS AGAIN!
Nonetheless, that goal didn’t seem to dampen the Bianconeri’s spirit as Ronaldo responded with his second goal of the night three minutes later: Dybala burst forward up the field and played the ball across the box. It met the feet of Ronaldo, who sliced home a delightful ball to restore the host’s lead. Gonzalo Higuain was then brought on in place of Ramsey, and he immediately fired at goal with an effort that didn’t go out by much. Parma pushed for another equalizer through a daisy-cutter by Hernani, which sailed went into the arms of Szczesny. Douglas Costa then replaced Dybala with ten minutes to spare, as Juventus would go on to claim the victory.
Juventus: Szczesny; Cuadrado, Bonucci, De Ligt, Alex Sandro (Danilo 21’); Rabiot, Pjanic, Matuidi; Ramsey (Higuain 60’); Dybala (Douglas Costa 80’), Ronaldo
Substitutes: Buffon, Pinsoglio, Danilo, Rugani, Coccolo, Emre Can, Douglas Costa, Pjaca, Higuain, Bernardeschi
Parma: Sepe; Darmian, Iacoponi, Bruno Alves, Gagliolo; Scozzarella, Hernani, Kurtic; Kucka, Inglese, Kulusevski
Substitutes: Colombi, Alastra, Dermaku, Cornelius, Brugman, Laurini, Barillà, Siligardi, Sprocati, Pezzella
