Juventus crush sorry Genoa to close in on yet another league title

Posted Monday, April 24, 2017 by PA

Juventus took a giant leap towards securing an historic sixth consecutive Serie A title by thrashing hapless Genoa 4-0 in Turin on Sunday night.

The 16th-placed Grifone, who headed north boasting a record of one win from 16, were never likely to offer much resistance at Juventus Stadium and so it proved as the Bianconeri ran riot against Ivan Juric's team, pulling 11 points clear at the top of the table in the process.

Ezequiel Munoz was unfortunate to open the floodgates with an own goal midway through the first half, but Paulo Dybala's stunning second was all Juve and the Old Lady soon took complete control.

Croatia forward Mario Mandzukic put the outcome beyond doubt before the interval and the second half saw Leonardo Bonucci score the pick of the goals at the end of a surging run through the middle.

Roma are scheduled to play basement boys Pescara on Monday, but victory on the east coast would only be good enough to restore an eight-point gap, with time and games quickly running out.

The capital-city club's last hope of beating Juve to the Scudetto could come on May 14, when they host Massimiliano Allegri's men at the Stadio Olimpico.

By way of a reminder that Genoa were ostensibly not there to be rolled over, Giovanni Simeone provided an early scare as he punished a Bonucci slip by fizzing the ball just past the far post.

Juve shrugged off the shot across the bows, however, with Gonzalo Higuain going much closer when leaping to nod Dybala's free-kick marginally off target.

Dybala's left-footed sighter was close, too, and then Juve had their opener in the 17th minute.

Munoz was the unfortunate defender caught in the crosshairs as Higuain supplied Claudio Marchisio for a swipe at the ball that clipped a flailing leg and went in.

Before Genoa had time to think, Juve were 2-0 up thanks to Dybala, who played a one-two with Sami Khedira before driving a fierce effort beyond the despairing Eugenio Lamanna.

Juve came knocking again when Higuain got Lamanna working with a swerving drive from 25 metres out, but the Rossoblu keeper could get nowhere near the next attempt on his goal.

Four minutes before the break Mandzukic crossed from the left, with Munoz making a poor clearance that his wily opponent pounced on to find the inside of the far post.

It could have been four heading into half-time as Higuain forced Lamanna into an instinctive save when connecting with Stephan Lichtsteiner's ball into the box.

Juve thought their next goal had been scored eight minutes after the restart, but Bonucci's conversion of a Dybala free-kick was ruled out because of a foul by Mandzukic near the penalty spot.

Any disappointment was short-lived as centre-back Bonucci got his goal in the 64th minute.

The Italy international is known as a ball-playing defender and he thoroughly lived up to that label by searing through the Genoa half before unleashing a strike that left Lamanna standing still.

Juve were not satisfied and Higuain came sniffing for a potential 24th league goal of the season. After Marchisio hit a post with a shot from distance, the Argentinian repeated the trick with the follow-up.

The match dissolved into a training exercise for Juve, who play Monaco in the semi-finals of the Champions League in 10 days' time, and even utility man Kwadwo Asamoah - without a league strike since March 2014 - managed to find the frame of the goal with a speculative effort.