The fourth official indicates an additional three minutes at the end of the 90 for stoppages.
90'
Ronaldo meets the delivery first, nodding it away before Fares’ follow-up effort is blasted hopelessly over the goal.
89'
SPAL have a late free-kick after a Bonfazi cross is blocked before entering the penalty area. Can the visitors grab something?
87'
G. Chiellini enters the game and replaces Alex Sandro.
Alex Sandro will play no further part in the match, as Chiellini is brought on with three minutes to go.
85'
A. Paloschi enters the game and replaces A. Petagna.
Petagna is replaced by Paloschi as Semplici looks to get something from the match.
Juventus have a free-kick just outside the penalty area on the left corner after Ronaldo is brought down. Pjanic passes it across the face of the area for Cuadrado to have a shot, but he skews his chance high and out for a goal-kick.
83'
M. Valdifiori enters the game and replaces P. Schiattarella.
Valdifiori is on for Schiattarella who was previously booked.
81'
RONALDO DRAGS HIS SHOT WIDE! In the penalty area with space thanks to a wonderful opening pass from Cuadrado, the Portugal forward is seemingly put off by Schiattarella and he misses the far post!
80'
Schiattarella loses possession to Bentancur who immediately passes it forward for Ronaldo who gets into the penalty area, though he is unable to shield the ball from Cionek’s sliding challenge which takes the ball away from the Portugal international.
78'
Ronaldo attempts a fantastic overhead kick following a Pjanic knockdown after a Mandzukic cross. The strike doesn’t quite get into the top corner, but it’s a wonderful effort that only narrowly missed the goal.
Minute
Description
76'
Juventus press high, forcing the ball back to the goalkeeper who boots it up the pitch for Bonucci to nod back to Perrin. With less than 15 minutes remaining, it looks as though Juventus will cruise to an easy victory.
74'
P. Schiattarella gets yellow.
Schiattarella has been feisty in midfield all match, and finally goes into the referee’s notebook after sliding into a challenge on Ronaldo. It’s just a yellow, but it could have warranted more considering the studs-up nature of the tackle.
72'
B. Matuidi enters the game and replaces Douglas Costa.
Allegri makes his first change as he looks to settle the game down and preserve the clean sheet. Costa is the player recalled, with Matuidi entering in his place.
71'
SPAL are once again in possession in midfield, but the lack of response has been shocking from the visitors as they are forced to turn around and pass backwards into defence. A foul on Kurtic from Pjanic gives them some time to reorganise, but it doesn’t look promising.
69'
Ronaldo has a direct strike at goal from just outside the penalty area but Gomis is able to get in front of it to make the stop. He bobbles it initially, but a lack of Juventus players in search of a rebound gives the goalkeeper some time.
65'
Cionek meets the free-kick delivery with his head, but he is unable to get any power or direction on the chance, allowing Perin to collect for a goal-kick.
64'
R. Bentancur gets yellow.
Bentancur is unhappy as he is shown a yellow card for lunging in and taking Valoti down. SPAL have a free-kick on the right-hand side, just outside the right-hand corner of the Juventus penalty area.
62'
Schiattarella’s ankle is clipped by Pjanic, and the midfielder stops playing, almost presuming a whistle is coming. A moment of confusion ensues, before the referee finally sides with the SPAL player, and awards them a free-kick in the centre-circle.
60'
M. Mandžukić has scored a goal for Juventus!
CAPTAIN MANDZUKIC DOUBLES THE ADVANTAGE! It looks like job done for Juve who get their second goal of the match, just before the hour. Ronaldo chases down a long ball down the left before laying it off for Costa who has a strike at goal from inside the penalty area. Gomis is only able to parry the shot into the path of Mandzukic, who puts it over the line! 2-0!
59'
M. Valoti enters the game and replaces S. Missiroli.
Valoti is on for Missiroli in SPAL’s first substitution of the match.
58'
Schiattarella’s take is a good one, but Mandzukic’s crucial touch clears the danger and manages to keep it from going out for a second set-piece.
57'
Petagna gets free of Bentancur and takes a hopeful shot towards Perin which – luckily for the striker – takes a deflection and goes out for a corner-kick, which could provide SPAL with a chance to equalise.
53'
Costa’s shot was hit with an incredible combination of power and curve, but it failed to tuck into the post at the last second. That’s a brilliant bit of link-up play from the set-piece – just another way Juventus can hurt opponents.
49'
M. Fares gets yellow.
Pjanic takes it wide to Ronaldo on the left, who dribbles into the penalty area and clips a cross towards the back post, but it’s blocked by a centre-back at the near post.
Fares is given a yellow card for taking Costa down just outside the penalty area on the right, just after the Brazil international had fired a cross into the box. This free-kick is in a very dangerous position for a back-post delivery.
48'
Juventus win a free-kick in midfield after Antenucci gives De Sciglio a push during an aerial duel. The home side have a free-kick in a central position, midway inside the SPAL half.
46'
SPAL get the second half underway from the kick-off!
45'
HALF-TIME: JUVENTUS 1-0 SPAL.
44'
Bonifazi has time to set himself before whacking a half-volley towards goal from well outside the penalty area. It’s a great hit from the centre-back, but its straight down the middle and Perin can knock it down before grasping it in his hands.
42'
Schiattarella pushes Alex Sandro off the ball on the left flank with a firm challenge, which gives Juventus a free-kick which they take short. Perhaps the SPAL midfielder is slightly lucky not to go in the book for that.
39'
T. Cionek gets yellow.
Ronaldo gets to the ball first in midfield, and Cionek attempts to win possession through the back of the Portugal international, giving away a foul just inside the SPAL half and earning the centre-back a yellow card.
SPAL take a corner kick short, and Fares and Schiattarella combine well to get the former into a crossing position in the penalty area. The cross is clipped to the far post, but Perin makes an easy save.
37'
Pjanic takes a corner-kick to the six-yard box, but Gomis stands his ground and makes the catch in the middle of a huddle of Juventus shirts. He’s knocked to the ground, but he maintains control.
35'
Kurtic is in possession outside the penalty area and after feinting one way to get some space in front of Cuadrado, he attempts an audacious curler which fails to trouble Perin in goal.
34'
Word from the bench has come onto the pitch to switch formation, as SPAL move to three centre-backs, looking to overload the wings in an attempt to create overloads. Kurtic and Fares will need to contribute on the left in order to switch things up and catch Juve sleeping.
32'
SPAL are heavily dependent on the right-hand side, trusting Lazzari and Missiroli to create for Antenucci and Petagna. They are holding onto possession, but are lacking any incision whatsoever.
29'
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a goal for Juventus! Assist by M. Pjanić.
28'
The final touch for Ronaldo was extremely easy, thanks to a beautiful set-piece delivery by Pjanic. He is known for his range of passing, and his ability was on full display for that assist.
RONALDO OPENS THE SCORING! 1-0 JUVENTUS! Pjanic whips a free-kick from deep on the right-hand side just in front of the six-yard box where Ronaldo runs through completely unmarked to tap home a simple finish! The goalkeeper had no chance with that close-range finish!
27'
Alex Sandro delivers a long, high cross into the penalty area from deep on the left flank looking for Mandzukic, the Juventus captain on the day is squeezed out by two defenders.
26'
Whistles ring out all around Allianz Stadium as Cuadrado goes down in the penalty area – somewhat easily – and the referee refuses to acknowledge it. After that earlier disallowed goal, the home faithful are certainly not convinced of the officiating.
22'
Rugani takes Antenucci down after running through the back of the striker, giving SPAL a free-kick in a central area, just outside the penalty area.
20'
Juventus move the ball around the edge of the penalty area well, starting with Ronaldo on the right, but Pjanic’s crucial touch in a central position is poor, allowing SPAL to clear.
18'
Kurtic gets free again, this time curling a cross to the far post for Petagna who is unaware of the delivery and moves away from it, only for the ball to roll out for a goal-kick.
16'
Kurtic runs into some space down the right but the ball over the top is played too far ahead of him, and directly into the path of Perin who claims with his hands.
14'
Fares gets into the penalty area, slipping in between two defenders but De Sciglio is aware of the danger and puts in a wonderful sliding challenge which dispossesses the SPAL full-back.
13'
Antenucci uses a burst of speed to get free on the right flank, but Alex Sandro comes across and puts in a cynical challenge which gives SPAL a free-kick deep in midfield.
11'
Felipe bundles the ball into his own net but the own goal won’t count according to the referee as Gomis’ initial goal-kick did not exit his own penalty area. The whistle is blown before the ball crosses the line, though that won’t stop Juventus players protesting. VAR isn’t consulted, and it remains 0-0.
9'
Ronaldo attempts a quick throw-in to play Cuadrado into space, but the Colombia international’s one-two pass with Mandzukic around the penalty area fails to come off, and the defence can clear it deep and out for Juve to restart from another throw.
7'
Lazzari tries a deep cross to Fares in order to catch the Juve defence off-guard but despite a tricky deflection, Perin is equal to the task and catches the ball safely inside the six-yard box.
5'
SPAL are moving the ball around with confidence, switching play from left to right in search of some creativity from Lazzari. This can come at a detriment though, as both Costa and Cuadrado have the pace to hit on a counter-attack.
3'
Lazzari does well on the right-hand side to dribble pas Bonucci and win a throw in midfield. SPAL are positive in the early moments, looking to get around the Juve wingers and hit on the flanks.
1'
Juventus get proceedings underway at Allianz Stadium from the kick-off!
Leonardo Semplici’s side will have to earn their luck in a contest where it is fair to say that nothing is expected of them. Occupying 15th position, a blistering start to the season has tailed off in recent weeks, with the demands of Italy’s top flight taking its toll.
Juventus were in peak form prior to the international break, with a 2-0 victory over Milan at San Siro a perfect note to end on. Predictably leading the Serie A table, Juve sit comfortably, six points above Napoli in second. Without defeat in 12 matches – with 11 victories in that time – Maximiliano Allegri’s side are seemingly outdoing even previous incarnations of the Bianconeri, with a whopping 26 scored and only 8 conceded.
Hello and welcome to our live commentary of this Serie A match between Juventus and SPAL at Allianz Stadium.
SPAL will have to start picking up points if they want to avoid a repeat of last season when they narrowly avoided relegation by three points, condemning Crotone to the drop. The Biancazzuri have only ever faced Juventus twice before, with a 4-1 defeat in Turin giving way to a 0-0 affair at the Stadio Paolo Mazza last season – so a point is not out of the question.
SPAL SUBS: Gabriele Moncini, Lorenco Simic, Alberto Paloschi, Mirko Valdifiori, Johan Djourou, Sergio Floccari, Mattia Valoti, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Filippo Costa, Lorenzo Dickmann, Everton Luiz, Demba Thiam.
SPAL (4-4-2): Alfred Gomis, Thiago Cionek, Felipe, Kevin Bonfazi, Mohamed Fares; Manuel Lazzari, Pasquale Schiattarella, Jasmin Kurtic, Simone Missiroli; Andrea Petagna, Mirco Antenucci.
JUVENTUS SUBS: Andrea Barzagli, Carlo Pinsoglio, Paulo Dybala, Leonardo Spinazzola, Wojciech Szczesny, Blaise Matuidi, Giorgio Chiellini, Moise Kean, Joao Cancelo, Medhi Benatia.
JUVENTUS (4-4-2): Mattia Perin; Alex Sandro, Daniele Rugani, Leonardo Bonnuci, Mattia De Sciglio; Douglas Costa, Miralem Pjanic, Rodrigo Bentancur, Juan Cuadrado; Mario Mandzukic, Cristiano Ronaldo.
With 15 minutes to go before kick-off, the team news has been confirmed! Let's start with the home side!
It will take a herculean task to conquer Juventus, especially in Turin where they have not lost in eight domestic matches dating back to a 1-0 loss against Napoli in April. To make matters worse for a SPAL side who are not exactly free-scoring, Juventus have not allowed a side to score more than one goal at the Allianz Stadium in over a year.
Juventus have been clinical in their finishing, taking their chance well and putting SPAL’s defence under considerable pressure throughout the entire first half. The home side fully deserve their lead, which came through a neat Ronaldo finish after a brilliant Pjanic cross. The Bianconeri have had less possession in the first half, comfortable to use their pace down the wings to exploit their opponents on the counter-attack; a strategy which has worked to great effect. Despite seeing less of the ball, they look much more comfortable.
SPAL have relied too heavily on their right-hand side going forward, with Lazzari’s connection with Antenucci the only real source of forward movement in the game for Semplici’s team. Petagna has looked completely unaware in attack despite his ability to hold up play, which would get Kurtic much more involved. The Slovenia international did have his side’s best chances of the first half with a wicked free-kick hit from considerable distance. The visitors will need to craft better, and closer opportunities if they want to rescue a point – or more.
That concludes our coverage of the Serie A fixture between Juventus and SPAL from Allianz Stadium! We hope you enjoyed the match!
Juventus will look to continue their form into their Champions League clash with Valencia midweek, before travelling to the Artemio Franchi to face Fiorentina in one week. SPAL will look to get another win next Saturday, when they host Empoli.
Juventus never looked troubled in this match, and earn yet another comfortable home victory. Ronaldo’s goal was added to by Mandzukic who turned the ball over the line following a Costa strike on the hour. Despite going down two goals, SPAL never really challenged Perin, or showed any fight with their backs to the wall; though perhaps that is to the credit of the home side. Allegri’s team seemingly never broke a sweat despite long periods without the ball, and they fully deserve their nine-point lead over Napoli, which could be back to six depending on their result tomorrow. The loss could see SPAL end the weekend as low as 17th – but still outside the relegation zone in a worst-case scenario.
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