Alberto Polverosi has criticized Juventus for almost letting Genoa back in the game with their poor second-half performance.
The journalist hailed Andrea Pirlo’s men for having one of their best first halves of the season, however, he says they almost threw the game away by trying to manage it.
Coming off the back of a morale-boosting win against Napoli, Juve needed to get all the points against Genoa to keep themselves close enough to Serie A’s top two teams.
They had played Genoa twice already this season and in the Coppa Italia game, the match had to be settled in extra time.
Andrea Pirlo’s men knew they were facing a very stubborn team and they made a good start to the match.
Their start was one of the best they have had in recent weeks and it helped them to race to a 2-0 lead in the first half.
However, their second-half display was nervy and Polverosi said Genoa almost got back in the game because Juve tried to manage it and could not do that.
He writes on Calciomercato: “It seemed an easy victory for Juventus, because that was how Juventus themselves made it, playing a first half as they rarely did all season.
“Genoa, very soft in defense, had been swept away by the fury of the bianconeri who scored two goals in the first 45 minutes, finished 13 times and created at least three other chances.
“Juventus closed this first half with a small seasonal record, 7 shots on target. Rhythm, intensity, aggression and even play, this was Pirlo’s dominant Juve.
“Genoa completely lacked the same qualities listed above, he conceded a goal after 4 minutes and almost surrendered to the physical, athletic and technical strength of the Italian champions.
“But in the second half everything changed, Juve stopped attacking and playing, they tried to manage without having the skills and showing the limits of their structure and perhaps of their mentality.
“So he allowed Genoa to get back into the game and get closer to a comeback, before McKennie’s 3-1 counterattack.”
