Dybala magic sinks Milan
Sunday November 22 2015
A moment of magic from Paulo Dybala gave Juventus a third Serie A win on the bounce, leapfrogging an ineffective Milan.
This was a classic fixture and Juve had won their last five Serie A meetings with the Rossoneri. Sami Khedira, Roberto Pereyra, Kwadwo Asamoah, Martin Caceres and Simone Padoin were injured, plus Leo Bonucci rested and Hernanes brought in as a trequartista. The visitors missed Mario Balotelli, Jeremy Menez, Nigel de Jong, Andrea Bertolacci and Diego Lopez.
Gigi Buffon made his Serie A debut 20 years ago this week, a good four years before Gianluigi Donnarumma was born. The Milan teen showed he’s got character, controlling an Alex back-pass under pressure from Dybala.
M’Baye Niang’s volley whistled wide, but Hernanes hit a fresh-air shot on a great Paul Pogba pull-back. Claudio Marchisio unleashed a screamer that Donnarumma plucked out of the air.
Alessio Cerci also wasted a great opportunity, nodding a cross back to an empty space when he should’ve gone for goal.
Patrice Evra went off with a muscular problem and Hernanes was jeered by his own fans after repeatedly losing possession.
Hernanes came close to scoring, though, as his fierce free kick took a huge deflection and Donnarumma flew to palm it out from under the bar.
Leonardo Bonucci replaced Hernanes for the second half, as Juventus moved to a 3-5-2 system. Jack Bonaventura was brought down for what would’ve been a Milan penalty, but the referee whistled a second earlier for Niang’s shove on Stefano Sturaro.
Juraj Kucka couldn’t get enough on his header from a corner and turned wide from six yards, while Alex Sandro’s curler was off target.
Pogba tried a long-range effort that was dipping under the bar, but Donnarumma did just about enough to bat it away.
The game was finally lifted by a moment of magic, as Pogba chipped up a pass, Alex Sandro volleyed a cross down the left which Dybala chested down and smashed in on the left-foot half-volley from seven yards.
Moments later Dybala almost doubled his tally, forcing a low save out of Donnarumma, but Kucka’s chest and volley was over after great work from Cerci.
Mandzukic ballooned over the bar in comical fashion from six yards, but Buffon's first and only real save was deep into stoppages on Cerci at the base of the near post.
Juventus leapfrog over Milan in the Serie A table with this result.
