Juventus: Kings of Turin and Serie A SOCCER

There’s a famous saying in Serie A when it comes to Juventus that ‘no matter come what may, Juve always finds a way’ and that was evident in the latest edition of The Derby della Mole, where the Italian Champions who were below their best managed to carve out a win.

Coming back off from a defeat to minnows Young Boys midweek in the Champions League, Juve were keen to return back to winning ways but were clearly frustrated by a Torino side who are rooted at the sixth spot in Serie A. Indeed Walter Mazzarri’s men have been impressive this season and against their Turin cousins they showed just why. 

Il Toro was compact and managed to neutralise Juve’s bigwigs as Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic struggled to fashion a chance against their rival. Andrea Belotti and Simone Zaza led the line superbly for their team however it would be the latter who would turn villain in the second half. Zaza was one whose technique and ability was rarely questioned barring his infamous penalty miss at Euro 2016. But unfortunately, in this match, he displayed the mediocrity epitomised by his penalty miss in Euro 2016 through a sloppy pass back to his keeper after some good defensive work initially. 

As has been the case this season for Juve,  Mandzukic was quick to anticipate and managed to intercept the ball at the edge of the penalty box before Torino’s keeper brought him down. Ronaldo would go on to dispatch the penalty and the rest is history. A familiar narrative which has become the staple storyline for Serie A in recent seasons as Juve always find a way. With the win, Juve move 11 points clear of Napoli at the top of the league table signalling their dominance not only in Turin but the country and highlighting how a change continues to look as distant as ever.