Juventus were in control here as they secured a 2-0 victory away to Bologna in Serie A on Saturday evening, thanks to goals from Alvaro Morata and Juan Cuadrado.
Roma had picked up an impressive 4-1 victory away to Atalanta earlier in the day but the Bianconeri responded with a victory of their own as the two sides occupy fifth and sixth respectively.
It was hard to see the pitch early on at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara as the pre-match pyrotechnics left a cloud of smoke over the pitch in Bologna. Fog also swept Bologna in the latter stages of the match in what was a gloomy evening for the hosts.
Team News: Dybala Out, Dominguez Returns
There was no Paulo Dybala for the Bianconeri as he was once again hit with injury problems, picked up last time out in Juve’s 1-1 draw away to Venezia. Manuel Locatelli and Mattia De Sciglio also dropped to the bench as Moise Kean, Weston McKennie and Arthur came into the starting 11.
Nicolas Dominguez made his return from suspension last time out as Andreas Skov Olsen dropped to the bench in what was Bologna’s only change from their 2-1 defeat away to Torino in their last match.
Morata Gives Juve the Lead
Morata put Juventus in front for his fifth Serie A goal of the season with their first shot of the day. The Spaniard led the counter-attack well, driving forward through the middle of the pitch before playing the ball out towards the right flank for Federico Bernardeschi. The winger then played an excellent through ball in behind the Bologna defense, before the forward rifled the ball into the back of the net.
The first half chance of the match for Bologna came just after 15 minutes when Marko Arnautovic was able to get his head on a cross from the left by Mattias Svanberg. However, Wojciech Szczesny was there to make a fairly comfortable save.
A few minutes later, they threatened again after Svanberg attempted an acrobatic effort from inside the penalty area. However, his effort flew past the left post.
Bologna held their own after going a goal down and tried to get back into their match but the hosts were unable to create too many chances to threaten Szczesny’s goal. They also did well at nullifying the Juventus threat after the opening goal.
Cuadrado Strike Seals Win
The second half saw Bologna control possession straight out the block as they searched for an equaliser. However, Juventus held strong and were able to limit the threat from Bologna. The Juve defense, particularly Matthijs De Ligt, was superb at the back and held strong.
Leonardo Bonucci also made an important last ditch tackle to deny Musa Barrow, who was able to find himself in space inside the Juve penalty area following a good move. Half an hour remained for Bologna to find a goal.
Szczesny was forced into making a good save from Dominguez who got in behind the Juventus defence down the right flank. However, the Pole would have been disappointed to be beaten at his near post.
It was Bologna’s only shot on target in the second half as they were unable to make their possession count, whilst Juventus held strong at the back and, ultimately, stayed in control over the course of the 90 minutes.
Certainly against the run of play in the second half, Cuadrado doubled Juve’s lead with his fourth Serie A goal of the season. After some neat footwork on the edge of the box, the Colombian smashed an effort in from the edge of the area, as a slight deflection off of Aaron Hickey meant Bologna ‘keeper Lukasz Skorupski could not get near the ball as it hit the back of the net.
Space started to open up on the counter for Juventus as the second half progressed and Cuadrado could have grabbed his second of the match late on but substitute Skov Olsen was there to put him off enough as his shot went out for a corner.
What’s Next for Bologna and Juventus?
Bologna travel to Sassuolo in their next fixture on Wednesday as more Serie A action takes place, this time midweek in the run up to Christmas.
Juventus will play host to Cagliari at the Juventus Stadium on Tuesday.
MATCH SCORECARD
December 18, 2021 – Serie A 2021-22 Round 18
BOLOGNA – JUVENTUS 0-2
SCORERS: 6′ Morata, 69′ Cuadrado
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BOLOGNA (3-4-2-1): Skorupski; Soumaoro, Medel, Theate; De Silvestri (46′ Skov Olsen), Dominguez, Svanberg (79′ Vignato), Hickey (85′ Viola); Soriano (85′ Santander), Barrow (79′ Sansone); Arnautovic (Bardi, Binks, Bonifazi, Dijks, Mbaye, Orsolini, van Hooijdonk) Coach: Mihajlovic |
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JUVENTUS (4-3-3): Szczesny; Cuadrado, de Ligt, Bonucci, Pellegrini (61′ Alex Sandro); McKennie (72′ Bentancur), Arthur (61′ Locatelli), Rabiot; Bernardeschi, Morata (85′ Kaio Jorge), Kean (71′ Kulusevski) (Perin, Pinsoglio, Rugani, Soule, De Winter, De Sciglio) Coach: Allegri |
REFEREE: Mr. Orsato from Vicenza
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Dominguez (B), McKennie (J) Added Time: 1st Half, 2nd Half 3′