Juventus 3 : 1 Chievo - Juve canter to victory

Posted Monday, February 17, 2014 by PA

Juventus extended their lead at the top of Serie A to 12 points, ahead of Roma's clash with Sampdoria on Sunday night, thanks to a 3-1 win over Chievo.

Kwadwo Asamoah and Claudio Marchisio gave the Bianconeri a comfortable lead at the break, but a bizarre own goal from Martin Caceres gave the visitors hope.

Fernando Llorente settled Juve's nerves, however, to ensure a return to winning ways after a draw at Hellas Verona.

Chievo immediately made it clear what their intentions were, packing men behind the ball and allowing Juve to attack.

They only succeeded in frustrating their hosts only 17 minutes, as Asamoah exchanged passes with Llorente before settling himself for a shot which he curled into the top left-hand corner from 20 yards.

Juve made it two on the half-hour mark with Andrea Pirlo going for goal with an almost 40-yard free-kick, the ball dipping and skidding on the surface in front of Michael Agazzi, who only pushed it out to the onrushing Marchisio, who marked his return to the starting XI with a goal.

It seemed like the end of the story for Chievo, but a defensive mix-up gifted them a route back into the game.

Stephan Lichtensteiner tried to clear his lines, but he struck the ball against Caceres and the ball looped back over the helpless Gianluigi Buffon to make it 2-1.

Juve, perhaps still thinking back to their 2-2 draw at Hellas Verona last weekend, a game which they also led 2-0, started to suffer a little with Chievo sensing an opportunity to get something out of the game.

Llorente then settled Juve's nerves by making it 3-1 in the 58th minute, beating Agazzi with a close-range header from Pirlo's corner.