Match Reports

country flag Serie A Round 14
Fiorentina 0 - 3 Juventus
Sat 01 December 2018 17:00

Game Report

Highlights

Juventus cruised to a simple 3-0 win at Fiorentina to remain the only unbeaten side in Europe's top five leagues. A stunning Bentancur goal had Juve heading into the break deservedly in front. Second-half goals were added to it by Chiellini and a Ronaldo penalty. Szczesny had little to do throughout the whole game, with Fiorentina not creating anything of real note in a game bossed by the Serie A champions.

Detail

Juve were in control from the off. Outside of a Benassi piledriver from distance, Fiorentina created little in the opening exchanges as the visitors moved it around with precision.

The visitors were working the flanks well and getting overlapping full-backs forward. This was causing issues for Fiorentina, but Lafont was still going mostly untroubled. A penalty shout was denied by VAR due to one of those crosses from the wide areas for Juve.

It felt like Juventus were revving up, and they scored their opener in spectacular fashion through Bentancur. He collected the ball 30 yards from goal, played a give-and-go with Dybala, before dribbling forward and smashing it into the far corner for 1-0.

Juve's tails were up. The inter-changing play in the final third was starting to cause all sorts of mayhem for Fiorentina. Dybala and Ronaldo both came close to doubling their lead as Fiorentina threatened to cave.

Juventus went about looking to seal this one in the second half. They bossed proceedings without creating much, whilst Fiorentina had some timid efforts easily held by Szczesny.

Eventually, Juve would get their second in comical fashion. A Cuadrado header into the box found the stunning volley of Chiellini. Lafont appeared to save it, but it crept in as the home side came under pressure from Ronaldo.

Fiorentina were totally deflated by this stage in the game. Chiesa tried to link things up throughout the contest, but even he was dropping back and making half-hearted challenges.

Ronaldo had worked well throughout, and got his customary goal from the penalty spot on 79 minutes. Mandzukic's cross into the box was halted by the hand of Fernandes. Ronaldo stepped up and hammered it into the top corner.

Summary

Fiorentina just didn't inspire enough going forward. In an intimidating atmosphere, they didn't unnerve Juve enough. Chiesa was impressive throughout the contest with his endeavour, but it was all in vein. Lafont will also be disappointed with his part in the second goal, whilst Fiorentina's shots on goal lacked belief. Juve were surprisingly untroubled for large spells. They moved the ball with precision, whilst lacking a tad in the final third with their final ball. They always seem to find a way, however, with too many attacking talents in their team to be kept out for 90 minutes. A deserved win in the end, and in impressively convincing fashion too.

Key

Key players
Regular players
Support players
Universal Player Grid
Red card
Yellow/red card
Yellow Card
Goal
Artificial Pitch