Gatti gets involved, Juventus wins and the Champions League is closer

John

By John

Juventus-Fiorentina 1-0
NET: 21' pt Gatti.
JUVENTUS (3-5-2): Szczesny 7; Gatti 7, Bremer 6.5, Danilo 6; Cambiaso 6 (30' st Alcaraz sv), McKennie 6.5, Locatelli 6, Rabiot 6, Kostic 6 (14' st Iling-Junior 6); Vlahovic 6.5 (41' st Kean sv), Chiesa 5.5 (14' st Yildiz 6). On the bench: Pinsoglio, Perin, De Sciglio, Alex Sandro, Rugani, Djalò, Miretti, Weah, Nicolussi Caviglia. Coach: Allegri 6.5.
FIORENTINA (4-2-3-1): Terracciano 6; Kayode 6 (39' st Dodò sv), Milenkovic 5.5, Ranieri 6, Biraghi 6; Mandragora 5.5 (1' st Lopez 6), Bonaventura 6; Nico Gonzalez 6.5, Barak 5 (16' st Beltran 6), Kouamè 5 (16' st Nzola 5.5); Belotti 4.5 (1' st Sottil 6). On the bench: Christensen, Faraoni, Martinez Quarta, Parisi, Arthur, Ikonè, Castrovilli, Infantino, Duncan, Comuzzo. Coach: Italian 5.5.
REFEREE: The Pen of Rome 6.5.
NOTE: partly cloudy sky; playing field in perfect condition. Booked: Cambiaso, Yildiz, Beltran. Corners: 6-5 for Fiorentina. Recovery: 2'; 4'.

Turin – Juventus returned to victory in the championship too. After beating Lazio in the Italian Cup on Tuesday, this evening the Bianconeri won 1-0 at the Allianz Stadium in Turin over Fiorentina, extending their streak of home successes against the Viola in the championship and cup competitions to four. For Fiorentina, however, it was the sixth match in a row without away success in the league, even though in the previous two outings, on the pitches of Torino and Empoli, the Gigliati had at least achieved a draw. In the first part of the match a very aggressive Juventus scored three times but on the first two occasions referee La Penna annulled first McKennie's goal and then Vlahovic's for being out of play. In the 21st minute, however, the Bianconeri were finally able to celebrate the lead: following a corner kick, Bremer did well to free himself from his marker and head in, hitting the post. On the subsequent rebound it was Gatti who reiterated the goal, giving his teammates the lead.
A strong Juventus team took advantage of a Fiorentina team that struggled a lot in the first 45 minutes and, having broken the deadlock, took the reins of the match even further into their hands. On the evening of disallowed offside goals, in the 32nd minute it was Vlahovic's turn again to be denied the joy of scoring due to the intervention of VAR, which recognized a millimeter offside by McKennie (who had made the assist). In the 11th minute of the second half it was Milenkovic who tried but in his own goal: the Viola defender almost missed his goalkeeper on a cross shot from the left by Kostic. End of the match with a Fiorentina team that improved and came close to equalizing with Nico Gonzalez, who kicked from the edge of the box in the 29th minute but Szczesny extended himself brilliantly, deflecting the ball into the top corner. Finally, the opportunity that occurred in the 40th minute was equally sensational following Gonzalez's conclusion which was cleared by Szczesny on Beltran, who first hit his teammate Nzola from a good position. Allegri and Juve find their smile again.