Almanbahi: Juventus were late again, beating Udinese 1-0 on Saturday, with Danilo’s touch, to extend their Serie A winning streak by eight games.
The hosts paid tribute to Gianluca Vialli ahead of their first game since the former striker died Friday of pancreatic cancer at the age of 58.
baptiste : It looked like a frustrating day for Massimiliano Allegri’s formless side as sweepstakes specialists Udinese held on tight for 86 minutes at Allianz Stadium until Danilo hit.
Juve, who also took a late win against Cremonese on Wednesday, are now four points away from the leaders and their next rivals, Napoli, who are playing one more game.
Injured Juventus took World Cup winner Angel Di Maria back into the starting 11 and the Argentine international was a standout player in a goalless first half.
He picked Daniele Rugani, a headshot that he acrobatically saved, and then played Moise Kean for a great chance at the striker failing to beat Marco Silvestri.
After Kean sent another close-range effort over the crossbar at close range, Silvestri again bragged about rejecting Filip Kostic.
Udinese presented the occasional threat of attack as Wojciech Szczesny kept Walace and Rodrigo Becao at bay, and Juve fans were increasingly disappointed.
But that disappointment was eased when Leandro Paredes selected his substitute Federico Chiesa, who also threw the ball in goal for a simple finish for Danilo.
What does that mean? Juventus continues to gain momentum
Juve found a way to score wins even when they weren’t playing well, and this is their eighth consecutive win in Serie A since March 2018 without giving up.
Allegri’s side finished with an expected goal (xG) return of 2.32 and will feel the value of their win against Udinese, who has an xG of 0.40 and is currently undefeated on the nines.
It may not be a thriller, but at least Juve fans left Allianz Stadium with smiles on a day when the club commemorated legendary figure Vialli.
Argie hero Angel runs and hits the ground
Di Maria was playing for the first time since Argentina’s World Cup final against France three weeks ago, and he looked like a man on duty.
He may have only played 66 minutes before the match, but he still created the match-high five-lock chance and unfortunately his teammates couldn’t ignore it for him.
Kean everything but the clinic
Kean had four of Juve’s 14 shots and should have turned one of them, but was only able to test opposing goalkeeper Silvestri once.
After a good form practice before the World Cup break, back-to-back goalless matches are now happening for the Italy national team.
What’s next?
Juve will face off against Scudetto leaders Napoli next Friday, while Udinese host Bologna on their return to action eight days later.