Juventus played host to Fiorentina in a crucial Serie A clash at the Juventus Stadium with Allegri’s men able to come away with maximum points courtesy of late goals from Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala.
The match began with two goals in the opening six minutes after Fiorentina were initially awarded a penalty that was slotted by Slovenian Josip Ilicic. Minutes later it was ex-Viola speedster Juan Cuadrado who levelled the score with a well taken header that sailed into the far corner past goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.
After the fast start to the game, it took a while to find the third goal but in the 80th minute it was Mandzukic who capitalised on a saved shot to rifle the ball into the net and give Juve the advantage. Dybala rounded off the 3-1 scoreline with a well taken one-on-one opportunity to cooly add his eighth of the campaign.
Mario Mandzukic proving decisive
After a slow start to the Serie A season many Juventus fans questioned whether the Croatian had what it takes to succeed in Italy however as the reigning champions have begun to regain their mojo, Mandzukic is now proving just how vital he can be. Mandzukic has not only started scoring goals, but scoring goals at crucial times, helping Juve climb up the table and look to clinch a fifth consecutive title.
Paulo Sousa’s mistake may have cost Fiorentina
With Fiorentina still in a healthy position to secure a point heading into the final 10 minutes of the match, Sousa should have made his substitutions and given his team every chance of walking away with a point. Instead, he chose to wait it out, proving costly. Silly mistakes ended up costing a tired Fiorentina and you cannot afford to give a team like Juventus opportunities at home to win the game. Had the substitutions been made earlier, Fiorentina would have had players on the pitch more capable of running out the final minutes to help earn a point. It was not until Fiorentina were down 2-1 that Sousa made all three substitutions at once, too little too late as Juventus had already given themselves a goal advantage.
Juventus are well and truly over their form slump
Seven of Juventus’ next eight games are against bottom half teams. The other fixture is a clash at the Juventus Stadium against struggling Roma. This run of games comes at a very dangerous time for their Serie A rivals with the reigning champions looking much like their former selves over the past six or seven weeks. The next month or two could see Juventus put even more pressure on the likes of Inter, Fiorentina and Napoli and climb further up the table. With Claudio Marchisio back at full fitness and Sami Khedira back in the team, Juve look like a much better side and it is that midfield that is key in their title charge.
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