Posts Tagged ‘Mohamed Sissoko’

Palermo 0-2 Juventus: Welcome Back David, Chelsea Here We Come (Serie A Matchday 25)

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

David Trezeguet is back!

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“!

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Juventus 0-0 Napoli: Bianconeri Through on Penalties, Qualify for Coppa Italia Semis

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

If one thing was certain on Wednesday night’s Coppa Italia match, it was the “do or die” nature of Juventus vs. Napoli. Coming from rather poor moments of form in Serie A (two consecutive losses against Udinese and vs. Cagliari for the Bianconeri, a single point scored in their last four fixtures for the Azzurri) both teams had every intention of turning this Cup encounter into a rejuvenating cure.

What transpired in the end was a rather entertaining match, and this despite the misleading 0-0 score at the end of the 120 minutes of play. A rather bleak first-half performance was followed by an exciting second half, in which Juventus and Napoli played open attacking football and quckly shifted the ball from one end of the field to another. It was only through some great moments of defensive brilliance (Mellberg/Cannavaro) or sheer bad luck (Bogliacino/Trezeguet) that the 0-0 score remained unchanged, and in the end (after another battled & tense 30 minutes of extra time) only penalty kicks were able to break the tie at the Olimpico tonight. Ultimately Juventus prevailed, capitalizing on the Neapolitan errors of Lavezzi, Contini and Gargano, and will advance to the Coppa Italia Semi-Finals where they will play Lazio.

At the end of the day though, it must be said that both teams can be satisfied with their performances tonight. After their rough last couple of weeks, Napoli and Juventus have demonstrated they are very far from being dead & buried.

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