For some reason I've been on this kick for watching Juventus lately. It couldn't be because they're playing some of the best football in Italy, could it? Yes, it probably could.
This one was really fun to watch as well. The low scoreline is a bit deceptive. Both sides created quite a few quality chances. It really was an example of some of the best that Serie A has had to offer so far this season.
The first 20 minutes pretty much belonged to Juventus. Claudio Marchisio got things started with a bang in the 10th minute as just BARELY missed with a header over the Lazio crossbar. He really should have scored. Andrea Pirlo stood up to take the next chance on 13 minutes, but found his shot blocked. He tried again with an absolutely gorgeous free kick in the 16th, that was only kept out by an equally brilliant save from the Lazio 'keeper.
After weathering the opening storm from Juve, Lazio got their feet. In the 21st minute they were helped out by a Juve defensive blunder which Tommaso Rocchi turned into a shot that was neatly saved by Buffon. However, just seconds later, Cristian Ledesma sent in a wonder strike that looked bound for the back of the net but somehow crept wide.
Lazio's failure to convert some of their chances in the first half eventually came back to haunt them. In the 34th minute, Juve sparked a counter and Matri managed to find Pepe with a beautiful cross. Pepe promptly banged it into the back of the net to give Juve the 0-1 lead at the half.
The second half slowed just a little bit, but again both sides had chances. Lazio went on a great run of attack from about the 60th-70th minutes. It featured great chances from Hernanes, who hit the post, and Miroslav Klose, who forced a quality save from Buffon. However in the end, they couldn't convert and Juve held on to the 0-1 win.
Juventus takes the three points and continues their great top of the table run, Lazio played a great game however, and gave the Old Lady all they could handle. I expecy both of these teams to be in the mix for the Champions League spots, if not for the Scudetto itself. Great match.
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