29 September 2017
JUVE ON A ROLL
The Bianconeri have been unstoppable thus far in Serie A, winning all six of their matches. The latest victory came against city rivals, Torino, who were swept aside 4-0 last weekend in the Derby della Mole.
Paulo Dybala opened the scoring after Miralem Pjanic had picked the pocket of Tomas Rincon and played in the Argentine, who struck an effort out of Salvatore Sirigu’s reach and into the back of the net.
Torino’s Daniele Baselli was then shown a second yellow card for a late challenge on Pjanic, to leave La Granata with 10 men for much of the contest. Pjanic then got himself on the scoresheet after expertly placing a ball from Juan Cuadrado past the Torino goalkeeper.
In the second half, Alex Sandro made it three after rising highest to get his head on a Pjanic corner, before Dybala added Juve's fourth and his second, flicking the ball over an onrushing Sirigu to hand a comfortable 4-0 win to the Bianconeri.
ATALANTA AIM TO KEEP ON GOING
Sunday’s opponents, Atalanta, exceeded expectations last term and were one of the standout teams, finishing in fourth place in Serie A. Apart from an opening day defeat to Lazio, Gian Piero Gasperini's men were unbeaten at home against all of the top 10, beating Roma, Napoli, Inter, Torino, Sampdoria, and drawing against Juventus, Milan and Fiorentina.
This season, despite losing their first two games against Roma and Napoli, La Dea appear to be getting themselves back on track after home wins against Sassuolo and Crotone and draws on the road vs Chievo and Fiorentina. This is not to mention an impressive 3-0 win over Everton in the Europa League, in the club’s first return to European football for 26 years.
Their notable signings this summer include the return of Dutch midfielder, Marten de Roon, Josip Illicic from Fiorentina, and winger, Riccardo Orsolini, on loan from Juventus. In addition to the aforementioned Orsolini, defenders Leonardo Spinazzola and Mattia Caldara are also on loan from the Bianconeri.
LAST TIME VS ATALANTA
La Vecchia Signora first took on Atalanta in December of last year, when the Orobici were in the midst of making a real push for the Champions League places. However, a stunning first-half strike from Alex Sandro and a finish from Daniele Rugani put Juve in command, before a second-half header from Mario Mandzukic all but made the game safe, despite a late consolation strike by Atalanta’s Remo Freuler.
When the two sides reconvened in Bergamo the following April, as had been the case for most of the season, the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia proved to be a stronghold for the hosts.
Defender Andrea Conti put the Bergamaschi in front on the stroke of half-time, but the Bianconeri were quick to respond through an own goal by Spinazzola in the second half. Dani Alves thought he had won it for Juventus with a diving header in the final 10 minutes, but Swiss midfielder Freuler again scored a late goal, this time helping to gift his side a point and deny Juve all three.
#ATALANTAJUVE MATCH STATS
- In 110 league matches against Atalanta, the record stands at 63 Juventus victories, 36 draws, and 11 wins for La Dea.
- In Bergamo, the Bianconeri have won 26 out of 55 matches, drawn 22 times and lost just seven; Juve have also won nine out of the last 10 away encounters.
- Juventus are unbeaten in 25 matches in Serie A against Atalanta, winning 13 of the previous 14 meetings.
- Atalanta have conceded the most goals outside the area, whilst Juventus have scored the most.
- Juventus and Atalanta have both had the most shots in Serie A: 58 and 65 respectively.
- Paulo Dybala scored 10 goals in Serie A between August and September: nobody has ever reached more than eight in this timeframe.
- Nobody has had more shots than Dybala in Serie A thus far, with La Joya hitting 34 efforts.
- Alejandro Gomez has had a hand in five Atalanta goals this season (three goals, two assists): his best start to a season.
- Miralem Pjanic currently has the most assists in Serie A with five.
- Rodrigo Bentancur currently boasts an average of 109 passes every 90 minutes, which is more than any other Bianconeri player and 10 more than Pjanic in second place.
- Atalanta are the only team in Serie A that Andrea Barzagli has scored past on more than one occasion.
