Lazio 0-3 Juventus : Post-Match Review

      Lazio                                                      0-3                                               Juventus          

Pogba 25, 64 (J), Tevez 55 (J)

Serie A  – Week 12  [22nd November 2014]  – Stadio Olimpico

Another International Break has been and gone with 4 points to the Azzurri and a number of special games for many of the Juventus players. One important game in particular for Alvaro Morata who–after playing very well for The Old Lady–was able to find a spot on the starting XI for the Spanish national team in their meeting against the World Champions of Germany.

Today Juventus find themselves back in Serie A action in the Province of Rome to face a Lazio side that has had an impressive start to the new campaign after making a number of great moves in the past mercato such as Dutch International, Stefan de Vrij and former Parma midfielder, Marco Parolo.

Unlike The Gobbi’s last fixture where they hosted a very weak Parma and sent them home with the bitter end of a match that ended 7-0, Lazio has been one of the stronger Seven Sisters this season.

Juventus started out the match rather puzzled in the first 10 minutes and were struggling to control possession, misplacing passes and giving the ball away in dangerous areas, allowing Le Aquile to create threatening chances through the likes of Antonio Candreva, Miroslav Klose, and Keita. The disorganization would not last long from The Bianconeri, however, and they started pressuring very high up the pitch and causing a lot of trouble down Basta’s flank through the darting runs and great passes from Simone Padoin and Paul Pogba.

After just 25 minutes of play, Juventus found themselves playing old-school Italian football and defended Lazio’s attack incredibly well causing a fast counter led by Carlitos Tevez who picked out Pogba’s run only for the Golden Boy to settle the ball well and gently put it past Marchetti to erupt the traveling Juventini in the Stadio Olimpico, changing the tides in a very historical stadium and putting Juventus up 0-1.

Lazio did not give up easily as they continued to press up the pitch causing trouble for the Juventus defense, especially Bonucci who unfortunately played a shockingly poor first half, allowing chances towards Gigi Buffon’s goal.

In Vidal’s absence, Roberto Pereyra took on the “trequartista” role supporting Tevez and Llorente and mastered the role very well, winning fouls, creating opportunities and helping on defense when it was necessary. One of the great signings from Beppe Marotta this summer, today the Argentinian midfielder was the driving force in this Juventus team.

Just before the end of the first half, Pogba found space on the corner of the 18-yard-box, beating both Basta and Marchetti and striking the crossbar on what could have been a goal-of-the-season contender. It seems as though every week Pogba is fulfilling the fans’ expectations more and more, further proving he is much more than just a kid with loads of potential, but rather a world class player who consistently produces excellence.

Allegri was able to regroup after a promising 45 minutes from his men and not too shortly after the start of the first half, he took off Llorente for fellow countryman, Alvaro Morata in the 61st minute.

Before Llorente’s exit, however, Claudio Marchisio made an electrifying run down the right hand side, cutting in and making a precise squared pass to a wide-open Carlos Tevez who took a touch, looked up at Marchetti and put it opposite to the side he looked, bamboozling the Italian shot-stopper and widening the lead to 2 goals, scoring his 9th goal of the season.

With more constant attacking from a fueled Juventus side, it only took another 7 minutes for Juventus to bring their already comfortable lead to 0-3 through an amazing finish by Paul Pogba who was able to get his second of the match, further burying Marchetti into a shoulder-shrugging recession.

With a clear victory in sight, Lazio’s balloon quickly began deflating, but the mind-numbing efforts from Antonio Candreva trying to keep the ballon airborne had finally made a mark. Not through a goal, but Candreva had forced The Old Lady to ten men as he drew a foul from Simone Padoin (who played surprisingly very well at Left Back) causing him to earn his second yellow and returning prematurely to the locker room past the proud Lazio faithful.

After the third goal, the game slowed down significantly and Allegri made his final two substitutions which saw Primavera player, Federico Mattiello and Arturo Vidal come on for Andrea Pirlo and Roberto Pereyra, both of which excellent performances were made. It was smooth sailing for Juventus despite playing the last 20 minutes with 10 men and Juventus were able to secure another 3 points after having scored 10 goals and conceding 0 after 180 minutes of Serie A calcio.

Juventus’ week is far from done and preparations for their midweek fixture in Sweden against Malmo will begin immediately. More good signs for Allegri as his black and white transformation is seemingly in full-effect after another promising victory with his changed formation. Again Juventus were able to ground Lichtsteiner’s former Eagles of Lazio in thrilling fashion and will return to Turin with smiles on their faces, but with a serious task in mind.

 Statistics

	Man of the Match:	Pogba		Corners	4		Total Shots:	10
	Flop of the Match:	N/A		Pass Accuracy:	85%		Ball Possession:	56%
	Fouls:	13		Shots on Target:	4		Formation:	4-3-1-2

Player Ratings

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Formation:

Lineups:

  Lazio: Marchetti; Basta (Cavanda 87), De Vrij, Cana, Braafheid; Parolo, Biglia, Lulic; Candreva, Klose (Djordjevic 56), Keita (Felipe Anderson 56)

Juventus: Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Chiellini, Padoin; Pirlo (Vidal 76), Marchisio, Pogba; Pereyra (Mattiello 72), Tevez; Llorente (Morata 61)

Ref: Damato

Sent off: Padoin 70 (J)

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