December 22, (THEWILL) – Juventus were not at their best, but did just enough to secure a 2-0 victory over Cagliari at the Allianz Stadium, with Moise Kean and Federico Bernadeschi giving the Old Lady all three points.
On the other hand, their opponents fell deeper into relegation trouble, adding to the dissatisfaction within the club’s fanbase with the news of Diego Godin and Martin Caceres’ impending exits in January.
Massimiliano Allegri’s team got off to a flying start, with the best chance falling to Kean, whose header from a perfect Juan Cuadrado cross struck the foot of the post.
Five minutes after the break, Kean would make amends; another headed effort, this time with tremendous inventiveness after a Federico Bernadeschi cross-shot, found its way past Alessio Cragno as the ball settled into the bottom corner.
The visitors were quiet in the first half, but after the break, they came out with a vengeance. An initial Gaston Pereiro flick-on, was followed by Dalbert’s near goal miss from a Raoui Bellanova cross.
Then, Joao Pedro was denied the goal that would have taken his tally to double figures this season, as Wojciech Szczesny made a fantastic save to turn his bullet header over the bar after Gabriele Zappa had serviced him with a sumptuous delivery.
Bernadeschi concluded an outstanding individual performance on both flanks with a thunderous drive that flew past Cargo, but nothing can take away the brilliance of substitute Dejan Kulusevski’s touch and interception that set up the goal.
Walter Mazzarri can be delighted with his team’s effort and energy, but he must be concerned about their goal-scoring inconsistency.
Allegri and Juventus, on the other hand, were continually impressive. This win puts them in fifth place in Serie A, four points behind the elusive top four, and provides a solid basis on which to develop following the Christmas break.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
