Juventus back on top
Juventus went back to the top of Serie A after a 2-0 victory over Cesena yesterday in a match where the visitors had their goalkeeper controversially sent off. Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal, from the penalty spot, scored the goals that restored...
Juventus went back to the top of Serie A after a 2-0 victory over Cesena yesterday in a match where the visitors had their goalkeeper controversially sent off.
Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal, from the penalty spot, scored the goals that restored the Old Lady of Turin’s two-point lead over Milan and Udinese.
But the match was not without incident and controversy, not least the dismissal of Cesena goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli.
Juve struggled for more than 70 minutes against dogged opponents, but coach Antonio Conte felt their eventual success demonstrated a growing maturity.
“When you try everything to score a goal you risk getting annoyed and worried,” said Conte.
“I told them at the end of the first half not to get annoyed and to stretch the game. I saw the statistics, we had 70 per cent of possession and 21 shots, we did well at pushing them back.
“This is the proof that this team is improving day by day.”
Juve dominated possession in the first half but managed only two shots on target, the best effort being from an angle by Mirko Vucinic that Antonioli saved comfortably.
Vucinic had another effort after the break that Antonioli parried, with Simone Pepe knocking the follow-up straight into the goalkeeper’s hands.
Pepe then headed a great chance wide after meeting a cross from the left by Giorgio Chiellini.
Juve lost substitute and captain Alessandro Del Piero after a clash with Marco Rossi that left him bloodied and carried off on a stretcher.
The hosts got the breakthrough their persistence, if not their effectiveness, deserved 18 minutes from time.
Marchisio played a one-two with Vidal and then turned and shot home smartly from the edge of the box.
Any chance of a Cesena comeback was wiped out with the dismissal of Antonioli in unusual circumstances. He rushed from his line to punch the ball clear, which hit the incoming Emanuele Giacherini before rebounding out of play.
However, the two players collided in the action and to Cesena’s astonishment, the referee pointed to the spot and sent off Antonioli.
Cesena had already made all their substitutions so defender Giullermo Rodriguez had to go in goal and his first job was to pick Vidal’s penalty out of the net.
Three off
Roma finished with eight men as they crashed to a 3-0 humiliation at Fiorentina, who began the game by paying tribute to former player Socrates, who died earlier yesterday.
Juan was harshly sent off inside the first quarter of the match as he gave away a penalty by bringing down Stevan Jovetic, who picked himself up to score from the spot.
Alessandro Gamberini then headed home a corner on the stroke of half-time.
Fernando Gago was sent off for a second booking and then Bojan Krkic was dismissed late on for blocking the ball on the line with his hands.
Santiago Silva completed Roma’s misery by scoring Fiorentina’s second penalty of the game.
Earlier, Victor Ibarbo scored a stunning individual goal to give Cagliari a 1-0 victory over Catania and their first win in eight matches.
Serie A
Bologna 1
Di Vaio 28;
Siena 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 19,000.
Catania 0
Cagliari 1
Ibarbo 64;
HT: 0-0. Att: 14,000.
Chievo 0
Atalanta 0
Att: 12,000.
Fiorentina 3
Jovetic 17 pen; Gamberini 44; Silva 86 pen;
Roma 0
HT: 2-0. Att: 24,000.
Red cards: Juan (R) 16; Gago (R) 77; Krkic (R) 85.
Juventus 2
Marchisio 72; Vidal 83 pen;
Cesena 0
HT: 0-0. Att: 26,000.
Red card: Antonioli (C) 81.
Parma 0
Palermo 0
Att: 11,815.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Juventus | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 24 | 10 | 29 |
| Milan | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 29 | 14 | 27 |
| Udinese | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 6 | 27 |
| Lazio | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 9 | 22 |
| Napoli | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 21 | 13 | 20 |
| Palermo | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 15 | 20 |
| Cagliari | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 13 | 17 |
| Roma | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 17 | 17 |
| Catania | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 19 | 17 |
| Fiorentina | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 11 | 16 |
| Parma | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 20 | 16 |
| Chievo | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 16 |
| Chievo | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 16 |
| Atalanta (-6) | 13 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 15 | 15 |
| Genoa | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 16 | 15 |
| Siena | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 12 | 14 |
| Inter | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 18 | 14 |
| Bologna | 13 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 14 |
| Novara | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 21 | 10 |
| Cesena | 13 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 15 | 9 |
| Lecce | 13 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 23 | 8 |
Playing today
Lazio vs Novara - 20.45
Top scorers
10 goals: Denis (Atalanta).
9 goals: Di Natale (Udinese).
8 goals: Ibrahimovic (Milan).
7 goals: Giovinco (Parma), Klose (Lazio), Cavani (Napoli).
Next fixtures
Saturday: 18.00 Lecce vs Lazio; Siena vs Genoa. 20.45 Inter vs Fiorentina; Palermo vs Cesena.
Sunday: 15.00 Cagliari vs Parma; Atalanta vs Catania; Bologna vs Milan; Udinese vs Chievo. 20.45 Novara vs Napoli.
Monday: 20.45 Roma vs Juventus.
Prima Divisione ‘A’
Carpi vs Pisa 2-2; Lumezzane vs Foggia 2-0; Pavia vs Avellino 2-3; Sorrento vs Tritium 2-0; Spal vs Benevento 0-2; Taranto vs Foligno 1-0; Ternana vs Pro Vercelli 1-0; Viareggio vs Reggiana 2-1. Today (20.45 Monza vs Como.
Standings: Ternana 34; Taranto 30; Pro Vercelli, Carpi 26; Sorrento 25; Pisa, Lumezzane 24; Como 23; Tritium, Avellino 22; Reggiana, Benevento 16; Foggia 15; Monza, Viareggio 11; Spal 10; Pavia 8; Foligno 3.
Prima Divisione ‘B’
Barletta vs Cremonese 1-0; Bassano vs Prato 0-0; FeralpiSalo vs Carrarese 2-2; Latina vs Piacenza 2-2; Pergocrema vs Lanciano 0-2; Portogruaro vs Frosinone 1-0; Siracusa vs Andria 2-0; SudTirol vs Spezia 1-2; Triestina vs Trapani 2-1.
Standings: Siracusa 27; Lanciano, Portogruaro 25; Carrarese, Barletta 23; Pergocrema, Trapani, Cremonese 22; Triestina, SudTirol 21; Spezia 20; Frosinone 19; Latina, Andria 16; Bassano 15; Piacenza 14; Prato 13; FeralpiSalo 11.