Juventus maintained their four-point lead in Serie A after comfortably dispatching Genoa 3-1 at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium.
The Old Lady saw their advantage at the top of the table cut to just one point – when Lazio came from a goal down to win earlier in the day in Turin – but Maurizio Sarri’s men from the Rossoblù were rattled. were worthy winners considering Shoulders in the relegation zone.
Both Douglas Costa and Cristiano Ronaldo were on the score sheet. / Jonathan Mascroup / Getty Images
As expected, Juve dominated possession during the opening 45 minutes – enjoying 76% of the ball – and stroked the ball well without really adding much substance to their play. The I Bianconeri were mainly limited to long-range shots on goal, with Mattia Perin comfortably dealing with efforts from Cristiano Ronaldo and Federico Bernardeschi.
It was a different story after the break, however, as Paulo Dybala put Juventus ahead just five minutes into the second half. The Argentine showed some of the silky dribbling ability that caught Tottenham’s eye last summer, collecting the ball on the edge of the box before curling an effort into the corner.
Juventus doubled the lead shortly after thanks to a blockbuster effort from Ronaldo, before Douglas Costa scored a stunning goal of his own just under twenty minutes from time.
???????????? ??? From Cristiano Ronaldo?
His 24th goal of the season doubles Juve’s lead? #GenoaJuventus 0-2 pic.twitter.com/w28gojrIwS
– Premier sports? (@PremierSportsTV) June 30, 2020
With the game effectively over, Juventus introduced Aaron Ramsey and Gonzalo Higuain – the former replacing Miralem Pjanic, who started in midfield despite confirming his impending move to Barcelona.
These substitutions seemed to disrupt Juve’s style of play and Andrea Pinamonti scored a consolation for Genoa with 15 minutes remaining.
Despite some late pressure, the visitors re-established their four-point cushion over Lazio – who got Cerro Immobile back on the scoresheet against Torino.
Cero Immobile scored again for Lazio, this time against Torino. Stefano Guidi/Getty Images
Next time out, Juventus take on Torino – their fiercest rivals – while Lazio will hope to keep up the pressure on Sarri’s side with a victory over struggling Lecce.