20 September 2016
6 January 2016: Juventus 3-0 Verona
Epiphany marks a special day of celebration in Italy and the Bianconeri had even more reason to cheer this year with a performance and result that saw them carry the momentum they had built in the weeks and months before Christmas into the second half of the 2015/16 season.
The fans that had flocked to Juventus Stadium had to wait only eight minutes before rising from their seats thanks to Paulo Dybala’s sumptuous free-kick from outside the box, his 11th strike of the campaign in all competitions.
La Joya, as is so often the case, was wreaking havoc among the opposition ranks and on the strike of half-time he would go on to provide the killer ball for Leonardo Bonucci to nod past Hellas keeper Pierluigi Gollini, the defender thus doubling his team’s advantage and opening his personal account for the season at the same time.
Simone Zaza added gloss to the victory with a third goal of the afternoon, as the Bianconeri rubber-stamped an eighth of an eventual 15 consecutive league triumph to stay hot on the heels of then Serie A pace-setters Inter and Napoli.
3 February 2016: Juventus 1-0 Genoa
Just under a month later, the wing wizardry of Juan Cuadrado’s helped Juventus extend their winning streak in Serie A to 13 matches, setting a new club record in the process.
The Colombian’s trickery down the right saw him create space to take aim at goal, smashing against Rossoblu centre-back Sebastian De Maio and into the net.
In a game of few chances, Cuadrado, incidentally the match-winner again the following weekend at Frosinone, would ultimately prove to be the difference against Genoa, as the Bianconeri edged ever closer to table-topping Napoli just 11 days before hosting and ultimately overtaking their main title rivals of 2015/16.
20 April 2016: Juventus 3-0 Lazio
By the Spring, Juventus had stolen a significant march on their title rivals and by sweeping aside Lazio here at Juventus Stadium they regained their nine-point lead at the top of the table with just four fixtures remaining.
The Bianconeri were on the front foot right from the first whistle, fashioning their highest number of shots on target in any first-half of the 2015/16 season (six), with Mario Mandzukic eventually handed his side the lead they deserved on 39 minutes, poking home from point-blank range, his ninth goal of the campaign.
Massimiliano Allegri’s men maintained a sky-high intensity in the second half and ended up overwhelming the visitors, who saw Patricio Gabarron Gil sent off for a foul on Paulo Dybala only three minutes after the interval.
Then was the time for La Joya to take matters into his own hands with a pair of perfectly executed strikes, the first coming from the penalty spot and the second a brilliant right-footed drive, which took his own personal league tally to 16 for the term.
The goals put Juventus in a position of strength they never looked like surrendering as they closed in on another crucial three points in their push for a history-making fifth straight Scudetto title which would eventually arrive just five days later.
