The return of the Derby della Mole wasn't meant to be that exciting: Torino were meant to sit back and defend, Juventus to press and find a way through. Instead we had straight reds, missed penalties, and an absolute plethora of shots from the Old Lady.
Juventus v Torino, final score 3-0: Juve will stay top after claiming derby spoils
Juventus extend their lead at the top of the table with their win over ten-man Torino. Claudio Marchisio is the hero of the Derby della Mole.
The Turin Derby started off mildly enough, with both sides fairly balanced in the first 30 minutes. Torino may have had the better of the chances, with Mario Santana firing straight at Gianluigi Buffon, and Riccardo Meggiorini shooting just wide of the Juve goal. Mirko Vucinic got a good shot in off an Andrea Pirlo free kick, but it was pushed just inches wide.
As Juventus started to apply more pressure, Toro got nervous, and the strained nerves culminated in a horrible challenge by Kamil Gilk. The defender earned a straight red for a studs up tackle on Emanuele Giaccherini.
With Torino down to ten men after just 35 minutes, things went from bad to worse for the visitors. Migjen Basha, attempting to stop Paul Pogba, handled the ball inside the area. Up stepped Pirlo, and il granata had to think the match was already over. But somehow, the fates were smiling upon Toro, and Pirlo sent his shot well over the bar.
But that was the last time the gods of calcio would bless Torino. After a barrage of shots from Juve -- and naught a one from the shrinking Toro -- Claudio Marchisio finally got the better of the Torino defense. The midfielder got his head on the end of a cross from Sebastian Giovinco to put it past Jean-François Gillet from close range.
The next goal came just ten minutes later, in the 67th minute. Giovinco himself was the one to find the net, latching on to a pass from Vucinic and sending his shot through the legs of Danilo D’Ambrosio. Then even Nicklas Bendtner wanted to get in on the action, but Gillet stopped his close-range shot.
Torino did well to contain the damage, but did very little to ameliorate it. Alessio Cerci had his shot saved almost immediately after Giovinco scored Juventus's second. Santana did his best to narrow the deficit, but also saw his shot blocked. And that, my friends, was the sum total of Toro's shots in the second half.
Instead it was Juve hammering in the final nail to the coffin, with Marchisio bagging his brace in the 84th minute. Vucinic knocked down a cross from substitute Alessandro Matri, allowing Marchisio to put the ball into the far corner.
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