Juventus vs. AS Roma: Final score 3-0, Juve extend Serie A lead with win over 9-man Roma
Juventus extended their lead at the top of the Serie A table with a 3-0 win over second-place Roma on Sunday night.
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Despite the calamitous final score, it was Roma that started the better of the two sides. In the opening minutes the giallorossi pressed high up the pitch, seizing control of possession. They created a great chance just after five minutes in, though after Francesco Totti slipped Adem Ljajić through on a swift counter-attack, Gianluigi Buffon made an impressive stop.
Juve made sure they didn’t make the same defensive mistake twice, retreating into a highly conservative shape when defending, frequently with all 11 players behind the ball. They didn’t see much of the possession in the opening quarter-of-an-hour, though made the precious little they did have count with an opening goal in the 17th minute.
The bianconeri had scarcely ventured out of their own half, though a quick break culminated in Carlos Tévez prodding the ball through for Arturo Vidal. From point-blank range, the Chilean calmly slotted over Morgan De Sanctis for 1-0. It had come against the run of play, though Roma's failure to capitalise on their early dominance meant the goal wasn't all that surprising.
Roma responded well to going a goal down, and forced Buffon into a number of diving stops in quick succession. However, the veteran keeper was largely only tested from distance, as Juve once again retreated into defensive formation. Roma played ponderously in front of the bianconeri defence, and were given momentary scares before halftime with Tévez and Llorente both going close.
Any hope the visitors had of staging a second-half comeback were dashed within four minutes of the restart, thanks to some horrible set-piece defending. Andrea Pirlo whipped a lethal free-kick towards the back post, with Leonardo Bonucci arriving to slide home entirely unmarked. From then on, there was no way back.
Things went from bad, to worse, to much worse for the giallorossi with 15 minutes remaining, when they saw two red cards in the space of a couple of minutes and went down 3-0. Daniele De Rossi's two-footed lunge on Giorgio Chellini earned him an early shower, just seconds before being joined by teammate Leandro Castán for handling on the line. Substitute Mirko Vučinić stepped up to convert the ensuing penalty against his former club, and put the icing on a big win.
Juventus: Buffon; Chiellini, Bonucci, Barzagli; Asamoah, Pogba, Pirlo, Vidal (Marchisio 78’), Lichtsteiner; Tévez (Vučinić 60’), Llorente (Quagliarella 81’).
Goals: Vidal (17’), Bonucci (48’), Vučinić (77’).
AS Roma: De Sanctis; Dodô (Torosidis 55’), Castán, Benatia, Maicon; Strootman, De Rossi, Pjanić (Destro 55’); Gervinho, Totti (Florenzi 72’), Ljajić.
Red cards: De Rossi (75’), Castán (75’).
