Post by Salem6 on Jan 20, 2007 19:34:12 GMT
The injury woes which have characterised the Bianconeri’s season so far looked to have reached a turning point as Deschamps’ men lined-up to face Bari at the Olimpico. The Frenchman welcomed back Giannichedda, Zanetti and Nedved to the starting eleven, while there were places for Legrottaglie and Marchionni on the bench. Giannichedda was paired with Piccolo in an improvised central defensive partnership and Mirante kept his place between the sticks in place of the injured Buffon.
The game opened in extraordinary fashion. There was not yet a minute on the clock when Santoruvo ghosted into the box unmarked and tapped home Di Vicino’s cut-back from the byline. The Juventus defenders looked to the linesman but the Bari striker was on-side (0-1). The response from the home side was an extended period of sustained pressure, with Bari pinned back firmly in their own half. Camoranesi brought the crowd to their feet with a thirty yard run in the 8th minute, scything through the Bari back line and switching defence to attack with murderous efficiency. The pressure was mounting and in the 10th and 11th minutes, Del Piero and Trezeguet forced Gillet into the first of a fine string of saves. Nedved followed suit on the quarter hour mark, fizzing the ball an inch or two wide of the Bari keeper’s left post. Having taken the lead, Bari were determined to deny Juventus any space in the final third but the Bianconeri were in full throttle and just kept on coming. Gillet was playing the game of his life and the only respite he seemed to get was the brief pause which accompanied the substitution of the injured Esposito in the 22nd minute. Camoranesi tested him again with a header from fifteen yards out and Trezeguet was sniffing around the box menacingly, challenging the Bari number one for every rebound. It was only a matter of time and in the 34th minute, Juventus got what they richly deserved: the equaliser. Del Piero collected the ball in a wide position, dribbled inside and found Trezeguet in the middle with a clever cut-back; the Frenchman had been asking questions of the Bari defence all afternoon and in fitting style, he got ahead of his marker and converted with a predatory finish (1-1). Fired-up by the ignominy of conceding so early on, Juventus looked to make it two straight away. Gillet had to stay alert to snatch a Del Piero free-kick out of the air in the 36th minute and the captain was at it again a minute before the break, wriggling free in the box and smashing an effort into the side netting. Clichés aside, the crowd on the far side thought it was in. The pressure paid off a minute later as Nedved gave the Bianconeri the lead on the stroke of half time, taking the ball round two men and slotting past the stranded Gillet (2-1). The goal sealed the end of a remarkable come-back and gave Bari plenty to think about at the break.
Bari introduced Sgrigna at the interval and the substitute had an almost immediate impact, shaving Mirante’s left post in the 53rd minute with a piledriver from the right edge of the box. Juventus were lucky as Del Piero had squandered a good chance a minute earlier, holding onto the ball too long when he had players lining up in the middle. The tempo of the game was decidedly slower as the Bianconeri took a more measured approach and Marchionni replaced Camoranesi on the hour mark. A venomous long range effort from Carrus forced Mirante into a fine save on 61 minutes, a brief reminder there was more than one side out there this afternoon, but six minutes later the order was restored. On his 500th appearance for the Bianconeri, it was only right that Alessandro Del Piero find his way onto the score sheet and he did so with all the hall marks of a natural born goal scorer, plucking an unselfish Marchionni pass out of the air and finishing with deadly efficiency (3-1). The Bianconeri were clearly enjoying themselves and they added a fourth in the 73rd minute. Zanetti marked an impressive return with a delightful through ball to Nedved in the box. The Czech veteran finished off the move in style, lifting the ball over Gillet with the classiest of first touches (4-1).
With the clock running down, Deschamps brought on Marchisio and Bojinov in place of Zanetti and Del Piero, the captain receiving a standing ovation as he strode off the field. In the 87th minute the Bulgarian substitute came close to adding his name to the illustrious score sheet, racing onto a zippy pass from Nedved down the line, cutting inside and flashing a powerful effort across goal, but Gillet was on hand to make another great save. The Bianconeri knocked the ball around confidently, shielding their hefty lead but it was Bari who had the last say, Gervasoni drifting free at the back post and heading home a corner in the 89th minute. It was scant consolation though, as the men from Puglia had been thoroughly outplayed. Two wins in a row for the Bianconeri.
GOALS: Santoruvo 1’, Trezeguet 34’, Nedved 45’ 73’, Del Piero 67’, Gervasoni 89’
BOOKED: Camoranesi 17’, Carrus 32’, Rajcic 37’
JUVENTUS: Mirante; Birindelli, Piccolo, Giannichedda, Balzaretti; Camoranesi (Marchionni 59’), Paro, Zanetti (Marchisio 76’), Nedved; Del Piero (Bojinov 81’), Trezeguet
Subs: Belardi, Legrottaglie, De Ceglie, Palladino
Coach: Deschamps
BARI: Gillet; Micolucci, Milani (Gabbiani 71’), Pianu, Esposito (Gervasoni 22’); Scaglia, Bellavista, Rajcic, Di Vicino (Sgrigna 46’), Carrus; Santoruvo
Subs: Aldegani, Gazzi, Ganci, Fusani
Coach: Maran
REFEREE: De Marco (Chiavari)
ASSISTANTS: Milardi, Pascariello
4TH OFFICIAL: D’Alesio
www.juventus.com/uk/news/detail.aspx?lml_language_id=0&trs_id=1573000&ID=9903