30th matchday: Livorno - Juventus 1-3

Before the game Fabio Capello warned his side against complacency in what could have been a difficult challenge for the bianconeri. In reality, Juventus were in charge of the game from early on and sealed a deserved victory with an injury-time winner from Alex Del Piero.

Juventus took the lead in the third minute through Trezeguet after a neat exchange involving Del Piero, Nedved and Giannichedda. One-on-one with Amelia the Frenchman made no mistake, his shot beating the advancing ‘keeper and curling just inside the right post.

Ten minutes later a rare attack by the home side found Lucarelli in space outside the area. The Livorno striker hit a powerful left-footed shot which was saved brilliantly by Buffon, diving to his right.

For the rest of the half the Juventus defence did well to prevent further attacks from Mazzone’s men. Chances were few for both teams, but Juventus were playing with far more confidence than their rivals and looked the more likely of the two sides to make a break-through.

The second half started in much the same way as the first with an early goal breaking the deadlock; although this time it was the home side who took the advantage. Collecting the ball from outside the Juve area, Pfertzel rounded several Juventus defenders before slotting his shot to the right of Buffon. Livorno celebrations were short lived however as less than two minutes later Trezeguet restored the bianconeri lead. Collecting a pass from Nedved, Trezegol rounded Vargas before striking the ball past the Livorno ‘keeper for his second goal of the evening.

As Livorno poured men forward in search of an elusive second goal, Juventus began to expose the space at the back with both Mutu and Del Piero going close. The latter was to settle the game for the bianconeri with his left-footed strike sealing the points for the visitors deep into injury time. The win maintained Juventus’ advantage at the top of the table with eight games left to play.

 

 

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