May 17, 2008. That is the last time one Mr. David Trezeguet had scored in the Italian Serie A: almost an unthinkable waiting period for a goalscorer of his caliber, but which finally came to an end Saturday night as Juventus overcame Palermo.

And it certainly was no easy feat, as the Bianconeri battled with a motivated, tactically disciplined, and physical Rosanero team, who obtained their fair share of scoring chances but in the end were forced to capitulate against an impenetrable Gigi Buffon and the scoring cynicism of their opponents.

And with Juventus, all three Serie A teams with upcoming UCL mid-week action have gathered full points, something which in terms of team morale should make a big contribution in their favor. “Europe here we come“!

Tactically and despite expectations from Wednesday’s upcoming fixture vs. Chelsea, Claudio Ranieri (at his 100^th game in Bianconero, Mazel Tov!) kept squad rotation to the bare minimum. The only changes were in attack: Amauri and Del Piero left their place to Iaquinta and Trezeguet, the Frenchman getting his first starting role of the season and wearing the captain’s arm-band. On the other end Davide Ballardini fielded Simon Kjaer in place of the injured Carrozzieri, and the Danish center-back would do a hell of a job at keeping Iaquinta isolated. No surprises in midfield: Liverani bottom part of the diamond, Fabio Simplicio trequartista behind Miccoli-Cavani.

The first 45 minutes were a succession of goalscoring opportunities for both teams, even though it was Palermo which got off to a lightning-fast start. Buffon was immediately asked for overtime making a miraculous save on a Fabrizio Miccoli, and was later saved by his crossbar on yet another effort by the ex-Juve striker. Shivers down Ranieri’s spine and Juve struggling to catch their breath, but the Bianconeri rallied proudly through Trezeguet and Nedved (in super-dynamo mode today). Scoring opportunities continued to flow, with Palermo dominating possession and Juve creeping with dangerous counter-attacks: Cavani had two shots on target, whilst Nedved & Iaquinta tested the reflexes of Mr. nº2 in the Azzurri hierarchy: Marco Amelia was attentive.

In a perfect equilibrium of chances however, the ice-breaking moment would come from the most unlikely of sources: Momo Sissoko. The Malian mid-fielder produced an out-of-this-world gem, the sort of goal one has come to expect from the likes of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, certainly not from a defensive midfielder with an easy slide-tackling trigger. Instead Momo surprised everyone (including himself I’m sure), inventing a penetrating run, speeding past two opponents and unleashing a cannonball effort straight into the top corner (coupled with a slide to give power to the ball). Power & physical strength at its best, and 1-0 Juventus.

In the second half Palermo pushed forward with determination, with Juve feeling the pain and essentially continuing to rely on counter-attacks. Camoranesi was having a no-day and little by little, ex-Bianconero wing-back Federico Balzaretti became the absolute master of the left wing, providing a never-ending stream of crosses inside the box. Fortunately for Juve, Cavani & Miccoli aren’t exactly six-foot monsters (Anelka and Drogba’ll be a different story though). Miccoli then pleaded in vain for a hand-ball foul by Legrottaglie (judged unintentional due to the short distance separating them), while Buffon continued his super-day by saving shots by Nocerino and then by Miccoli.

Ranieri then brought off Iaquinta for Amauri (well applauded by his ex team’s fans) and the Brazilian immediately came close to scoring, re-directing a Nedved assist from the left straight into Amelia’s foot. Amauri quickly made up for his mistake though, because after a good play on the left wing (dribble over Bovo down to the goal line) his pass found the left foot of David Trezeguet: rotating effort and ball in the sack, the first of the season for the Frenchman and 2-0 Juventus. Bring on the Blues!

.

	PALERMO-JUVENTUS 0-2 [Match Highlights]
GOALSCORERS: 27’ Sissoko (J), 79’ Trezeguet (J).
PALERMO (4-3-1-2): Amelia – Cassani, Kjaer, Bovo (89’ Gia.Tedesco), Balzaretti – Nocerino (82’ Succi), Liverani, Bresciano – F.Simplicio – Cavani, Miccoli. (bench: Ujkani, Cossentino, Savini, Guana, Migliaccio). Coach: Ballardini.
JUVENTUS (4-4-2): Buffon – Grygera, Chiellini, Legrottaglie, Molinaro – Camoranesi (68’ Marchionni), Sissoko (91’ Poulsen), Tiago, Nedved – Trezeguet, Iaquinta (71’ Amauri). (bench: Manninger, Mellberg, Giovinco, Del Piero). Coach: Ranieri.

.

Tags: Claudio Ranieri, David Trezeguet, Davide Ballardini, Juventus, Mohamed Sissoko, Palermo, Serie A

Posted in Juventus, Palermo, Serie A |

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 22nd, 2009 at 12:22 pm and is filed under Juventus, Palermo, Serie A. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.