20 September 2015
The Bianconeri followed up their Champions League victory away to Manchester City with a first league win of the season, as an own goal by Eugenio Lamanna and Paul Pogba’s penalty helped them beat Genoa 2-0 at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Sunday afternoon.
During an evenly-matched opening period, in which the hosts imposed themselves on Massimiliano Allegri’s charges with a high pressing game, the visitors, often a threat on the counter-attack, grew into the encounter and took the lead in the 35th minute when Rossoblu stopper Lemanna inadvertently knocked the ball into his own net after Pogba’s volley ricocheted off the crossbar, against the goalkeeper’s body and in.
Matters quickly worsened for the Gian Piero Gasperini’s men when Armando Izzo received a second yellow card in the 42nd minute after fouling Juan Cuadrado, and, burdened with the numerical disadvantage, they rarely looked like finding a way back into the contest.
In the 59th minute, Juventus took full control of the match when referee Paolo Valeri awarded them a penalty for Diogo Figueiras’ intervention on Giorgio Chiellini and Pogba converted the spot-kick, his first ever in Serie A, to make the points safe for a maiden league win of 2015/16.
Despite some lively early exchanges, it would take until the 11th minute for either side to muster the first shot of the match, as Diego Capel headed over the bar following Diego Perotti’s precise cross from the left-hand side.
Four minutes later, the Bianconeri too had a sight of goal, when Genoa’s rearguard got a block on Juan Cuadrado’s effort following smart build-up play by Stephan Lichtsteiner and Mario Mandzukic.
At the midway point of the first half, Patrice Evra had a chance to break the deadlock in the visitors’ favour, but could not quite direct the busy Cuadrado’s free-kick on target after connecting with a diving header.
Down the other end of the pitch, Blerim Dzemaili came close to an opener from a dead-ball sitaution of his own. The Swiss international curled the ball around the wall, but it sailed narrowly wide of Gigi Buffon’s net.
In the 35th minute, Allegri’s men eventually found the breakthrough when Roberto Pereyra picked out Pogba with a cute cross across the box and the Frenchman’s volley cannoned off the crossbar and into the net off a helpless Lamanna.
And things got worse for Gasperini’s men seven minutes later, when Izzo picked up his second booking of the afternoon for a tug on Cuadrado after the Colombian had stolen a march on the defender.
With just ten men on the pitch, the Grifone were not nearly the force they were in the match’s early stages, as the Bianconeri looked to capitalise on their numerical advantage during the latter period.
Fresh from his contribution in the build-up to Juve’s opener, Pereyra released Cuadrado with a precise through ball, but the winger, enjoying another fine performance in the black and white, shot just wide.
However, a second goal would soon be on its way, when, just before the hour-mark, Paolo Valeri pointed to the spot after Figueiras brought down Chiellini inside the penalty area.
Up stepped Pogba, who sent Lamanna the wrong way to double his side’s lead and make for a comfortable final 30 minutes.
At 2-0, the match lost a lot of the momentum that had made for such a compelling start. Mandzukic could have made it three after running onto a loose ball, but Genoa’s number one was equal to the Croatian’s eventual shot on target.
Cheered on by a supportive home crowd, the Grifone managed a last attempt on goal when Panagiotis Tachtsidis curled over the bar, but Juventus were able to see out their first league win of the season with ease to move above their opponents and up to four points in the Serie A table.
Allegri will be delighted with the way in which his charges dug deep in a first half hour that could have gone either way, while also showing a greater cutting edge in front of goal – all positive signs ahead of next Wednesday’s meeting with Frosinone at Juventus Stadium.
GENOA
Lamanna; Cissokho, De Maio, Burdisso, Izzo; Rincon, Dzemaili (Pandev 67), Laxalt; Perotti (Figueiras 46), Capel (Tachtsidis 65), Ntcham.
Unused substitutes: Ujkani, Sommariva, Marchese, Lazovic.
Manager: Gasperini
JUVENTUS
Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Chiellini, Evra; Sturaro, Lemina (Hernanes 76), Pogba; Cuadrado, Mandzukic, Morata (Pereyra 22).
Unused substitutes: Neto, Audero, Alex Sandro, Bonucci, Rugani, Padoin, Dybala, Zaza.
Manager: Allegri
