11 March 2016
Another night, another victory, another weekend spent as the leaders of Serie A.
Ultimately, these are the only figures that truly count following the Bianconeri’s 1-0 win over Sassuolo at Juventus Stadium on Friday evening yet as Juve’s title push enters the final straight, their defensive and collective statistics continue to defy belief.
Counting from seven, via a record tenth consecutive clean sheet, all the way up to 904, here are all the standout numbers from an 18th success in 19 league outings:
A record-breaking Friday
SEVEN
Just seven first-half goals have been conceded by Juventus this season, a division-wide low. Unsurprisingly, the defensive concentration of Allegri’s men rarely dips in the second half either, just a further eight strikes have bulged the Bianconeri net in the second 45 this term, a total also bettered by no other team.
TEN
Last night’s was the champions’ tenth consecutive league clean sheet, a total that surpasses their own personal best of nine to set a new Italian top-flight record.
ELEVEN
Though Juve’s remarkable overall winning streak of 15 came to an end at the Stadio Renato dall’Ara in last month’s 0-0 stalemate with Bologna, their tally of successive home victories continues to rise.
Since a 1-1 draw with Frosinone at the end of September, the league leaders have now picked up a maximum 33 points from their last 11 matches on home turf.
TWELVE
The secret of the Bianconeri’s defensive record goes far beyond the presence of a world-class goalkeeper and the collective nature of the effort put in by the entire team can be seen in this next statistic: for the 12th time this season, Juve ended a first half without conceding a single shot on target.
If you don’t let the opposition shoot, they aren’t going to score.
FOURTEEN
Match-winner Paulo Dybala lays claim to the first of two personal landmarks surpassed yesterday evening.
While,** in his own words,** he may have netted even better goals already in his career, the Argentine’s magnificent opener was his 14th strike of the campaign, overtaking his own previous personal record of 13, set last season in the colours of Palermo.
As it happens, Dybala has now either scored or assisted 43 per cent of Juventus’ 51 league goals this season. Invaluable.
NINETEEN
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWDWWW
In other words, Juve have now won 18 of their last 19 Serie A outings, the longest active unbeaten run in the country.
TWENTY-ONE
With such a water-tight rearguard and well-drilled midfield it should come as no surprise that often the first goal in a game involving Juventus is enough to earn the three points. In fact, the Bianconeri have now won 21 times out of a possible 22 when they have opened the scoring.
NINE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX
As records continue to fall at the feet of Gianluigi Buffon, last night’s clean sheet took the legendary goalkeeper within touching distance of arguably one of the most remarkable achievements of them all. Since Antonio Cassano’s 64th-minute strike for Sampdoria on 10 January, Buffon has not conceded for 926 minutes taking him past Dino Zoff and into second place of the all-time Serie A standings.
**
Fittingly, the Juve skipper could overtake record-holder Sebastiano Rossi in next weekend’s Derby della Mole at the Stadio Olimpico. Three more minutes are all Gigi needs to confirm his place as statistically the greatest keeper in Italian top-flight history.
The key men
As ever though, the round-up of the key numbers from last night will end with a closer inspection of the individual figures of the game’s star performers.
Not for the first time this season Juan Cuadrado is one of those to feature as the Colombian’s energy, creativity and determination down the Bianconeri right held the key to unlocking a stubborn and well-organised visiting defence.
The majority of the hosts’ play was channeled through Cuadrado on the night with the wing wizard producing seven of Juve’s impressive 17 crosses, laying on four scoring chances for his team-mates and of course providing the excellent run and assist for Dybala to break the deadlock on 36 minutes.
Typically, Claudio Marchisio’s performance was one of both quantity and quality at the base of the Bianconeri midfield, il Principino winning three tackles, making four interceptions and completing a team-high 34 passes in the opposition half.
Daniele Rugani however would prove to be Juve’s most prolific passer with 87 per cent of his 59 attempted passes finding their intended destination in a highly promising showing for the young defender.
