Juve open up 11-point lead with 4-0 win
milan — Premier League target Leonardo Bonucci scored an impressive goal as Juventus moved 11 points clear at the top of Serie A with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Genoa on Sunday.
Bonucci, a former target for Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, has been linked in recent days with a big-money move to Manchester City. And the Italy centre-back underlined his all-round class with a great finish in the 64th minute of a one-sided encounter in Turin that saw Massimiliano Allegri’s men take another step towards a record sixth consecutive ‘scudetto’.
Genoa had stunned Juventus 3-1 at the Luigi Ferraris last September.
But days after holding Barcelona to a scoreless draw to advance to the semifinals of the Champions League 3-0 on aggregate, Juve were never likely to buckle.
A bright start saw the hosts in front by 17 minutes, when Ezequiel Munoz scored an own goal past his own ‘keeper Eugenio Lamanna after Claudio Marchisio had got the slightest of touches to Gonzalo Higuain’s delivery in deep from midfield.
But if Genoa’s fans were aggrieved, they could have little argument two minutes later.
Paolo Dybala, the architect of Juve’s quarterfinal tie against Barcelona — when he scored a first-leg brace — turned on the class to beat Lamanna with a crisp shot from the edge of the area.
When Mario Mandzukic picked up his own rebound four minutes before the interval, the Croatian striker pounced from the left of the area to curl a superb shot past the outstretched hands of Lamanna at the far post.
Bonucci had the ball in the net 10 minutes after the restart when he volleyed home a Dybala free kick at the far post, although it was ruled out for a Mandzukic foul.
Barely 10 minutes later, Genoa’s defence stood off as Bonucci burst through to hit a shot that appeared to take a slight deflection before looping over Lamanna from 20 yards out.
Juve should have had a fifth but hit the woodwork three times.
Marchisio’s drive came off the crossbar 20 minutes from the end and when Higuain pounced on the rebound, the ball then came off the post. Seven minutes later, Ghanaian midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah’s 25-yard drive also came off the upright.
Roma were to face basement side Pescara on Monday night but even with a win the capital club would struggle to close an eightpoint gap over the remaining five games.
“It was a good performance in both attacking and defensive terms,” Allegri told Mediaset Premium.
“Coming a few days after Barcelona, we could have suffered a dip. But the lads really kept their level high. I don’t want to talk about the scudetto, because mathematically nothing’s guaranteed. Today we simply had to go out and win.”—