18 December 2019
Both Paulo Dybala and Cristiano Ronaldo scored fantastic goals, as Juventus claimed all three points in their final Serie A fixture for 2019 by defeating Sampdoria 1-2 at Luigi Ferraris Stadium on Wednesday evening.
WHAT A STRIKE, PAULINO!
After last week’s success against Udinese, Maurizio Sarri once again opted to play the attacking trio of Higuain, Dybala and Ronaldo and his decision paid off. The Bianconeri took the lead in the 19th minute when Alex Sandro delivered in a cross from the left flank to the right side of the park. It met Dybala on the edge of the box, who crushed home a beautiful volley that curled past Audero in goal. That goal seemed to spark a surge of beautiful passages of play by the Bianconeri, and they saw a few chances fall to Higuain, but he couldn’t convert them.
CAPRARI DRAWS IT LEVEL
After winning a string of set-pieces, Sampdoria turned the scoreline to 1-1 in the 35th minute when they pounced on a defensive error inside the box that landed at the feet of Caprari, who fired straight at goal from 15 yards. Cristiano Ronaldo then provided the perfect opportunity for Juventus to retake the lead, when he delivered in an excellent that both Higuain and Dybala failed to get onto the end of at the near post.
SLAM DUNK RONALDO!
The scoreline would turn 1-2 in favour of the Bianconeri, when Alex Sandro once again delivered in a perfect cross: it met Ronaldo at the far post, who jumped into the air and excellently nodded home the ball across the line on the stroke of half-time. It would later be revealed that Ronaldo had jumped an incredible 71cm off the ground.
ALL SQUARE SECOND HALF
Sampdoria started strong in the second half, and they by the hour mark, they were more confident in their approach. Ramsey was then introduced in place of Higuain, while Douglas Costa replaced Dybala. Gaston Ramirez then attempted a half-hearted overhead kick, but it came to nothing, meanwhile an injury to Alex Sandro 10 minutes from time meant Mattia de Sciglio took his place. The remainder of the game saw out subdued action, despite a Ronaldo goal being ruled out for offside, as Juventus commanded play in order to ensure their victory. They will be back in domestic action on 6 January against Cagliari.
Sampdoria: Audero; Murillo, Ferrari, Colley, Murru (Augello 76’); Depaoli, Thorsby, Jankto (Gabbiadini 62’), Linetty; Ramirez; Caprari
Substitutes: Seculin, Falcone, Augello, Chabot, Rigoni, Regini, Maroni, Gabbiadini, Leris, Quagliarella, Pompetti
Juventus: Buffon; Danilo, Demiral, Bonucci, Alex Sandro (de Sciglio 80’); Rabiot, Pjanic, Matuidi; Dybala (Douglas Costa 77’), Ronaldo, Higuain (Ramsey 70’)
Substitutes: Pinsoglio, Perin, De Sciglio, de Ligt, Rugani, Ramsey, Emre Can, Portanova, Douglas Costa, Cuadrado, Pjaca, Bernardeschi
