Hello and welcome to highlights of the Serie A match between Juventus and Lazio at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.
After full-time, it's finished Juventus 2-1 Lazio.
Match report -
That's all for today. Thank you so much for joining us. We will be back with more Serie A and even Premier League action tomorrow. So, stay tuned! Until then goodnight! CIAO
Top-scorers tally after this match:
Immobile: 30
Ronaldo:30
This means: Juventus is now 8 points clear, of Inter, at the top with 80. Lazio remains fourth with 69 and its horrible form gets worse.
With only 7 minutes remaining, a loose Bonucci tackle resulted in a Lazio penalty and Immobile made no mistake to score his 30th of the season go back level with Ronaldo at the top of the scorers list.
The match was quick to pick up pace in the second half and it was full of action. First, Bastos' hand ball conceded a penalty and Ronaldo happily obliged. Three minutes later, another defensive mistake cost Lazio a goal as Dybala and Ronaldo combined to take their side 2-0 up.
What a pulsating encounter that was! It started with a nerve-wracking first half, where both teams were denied by the woodwork and Ronaldo missed from six yards out twice and that too, off his head.
Record-breaker Ronaldo has now:
-Become the fastest player to score 50 goals in Serie A (50 goals in 60 games), beating Andriy Shevchenko's record (50 goals in 69 games) .
-Become the first player in HISTORY to score 50 goals in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A.
============
Juventus now eight points clear at the top and it goes ever-so close to its ninth-consecutive Serie A title.
FULL-TIME!!!! THE MATCH ENDS WITH A 2-1 WIN FOR JUVENTUS OVER LAZIO!!!!
Short corner taken and a throw-in to Juve. Nothing comes off.
One minute to go and Juve has a corner. Probably the last chance for Ronaldo to score his hat-trick.
Five minutes have been added to the second half!
90' SAVEDDDD!!! Wojciech Szczesny with probably the best save of the night! Free-kick to Lazio and Milinkovic-Savic went for the near post from the left. The keeper does really well to parry it away!
89' SUBSTITUTION FOR LAZIO! FALBO, MORO, IN | Lazzari, Felipe- OUT
STAT ATTACK: This is only the second time in the history of Serie A when two players have reached the 30-goal mark in the same season.
Coming to the goal, Wojciech Szczesny goes the right way, to Immobile's left. But the ball was struck well enough to beat the 'keeper.
83' GOOOOOOOALLLLLL!!!! IMMOBILE SCORES FROM THE SPOT AND LAZIO HALVES THE DEFICIT! IMMOBILE SCORES NO.30 AND GOES BACK LEVEL WITH RONALDO AT THE TOP OF THE SCORERS LIST!!! What a battle!!
82' PENALTY TO LAZIO! A lob through to Immobile lands inside the box and he is in a tussle with Bonucci. The defender brings the striker down and Immobile has a chance to score no. 30. Yellow card for Bonucci, who will miss the next game.
IF YOU ASKED FOR IT, YOU GOT IT!!!
10 minutes plus stoppage time to go! If Lazio is to comeback, now is the time!
78' BLAZED OVER! Cuadrado loses the ball and his shout for a foul is ignored. The ball falls to Andre Anderson, who whips it towards goal. The Juve 'keeper does well to get his fingertips on the ball and concede the corner. Nothing comes off it though.
75' SUBSTITUTION FOR LAZIO! Andre Anderson- IN| Cataldi- OUT
74' Cooling break. Much-needed for Lazio
72' SAVED! Dybala, collects a long ball from Bonucci with a delightful first touch. Shuffles to his left but fails to time it as Strakosha saves it with ease.
67' SUBSTITUTION FOR LAZIO! Bobby Adekanye, Denis Vavro- IN| Anderson, Caicedo- OUT
66' RONALDDDOOO NOW HITS THE CROSS-BAR!! What is happening? Dybala does so well to zip down the left flank and drill a timely, weighted cross to Ronaldo. The striker heads the ball fiercely, beats the keeper but not the woodwork. Third time the woodwork has denied teams a goal tonight! Ronaldo, comes close twice to scoring his hat-trick.
63' RONALDDDOOO!! SAVED! Not yet! Not yet! He has a free header from six yards out and this time, he is too straight as Strakosha gloves the ball.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man! Ronaldo has not only given Juventus the lead, but has also taken Juventus closer to the title, should it win, and also gone past Immobile for the highest scorer of the season.
Football is such a funny game! At the end of the first half, frustrations galored as the post came out on top.
57' SUBSTITUTION FOR JUVENTUS: Matuidi, Danilo-IN| Costa, Ramsey- OUT
Goal no. 51 for Ronaldo in Serie A. RONALDO GOES PAST IMMOBILE IN THE TOP-SCORERS LIST. HE IS NOW ON 30. Can he get to a hat-trick tonight?
54' GOOOALLLLLL!! CRISTIANO RONALDO DOUBLES THE LEADDD!!!! TWO GOALS IN THREE MINUTES AND THIS IS GETTING WORSE FOR LAZIO! Poor defending from Lazio. Felipe, the best defender for Lazio int the first half, loses the ball cheaply to Dybala. He zips down the centre and has Ronaldo running alongside him. The duo get to the box and Dybala plays it Ronaldo and the Portugal striker taps it in with ease.
Goal no. 50 in Serie A for Ronaldo and he's the fastest to get there!!
51' GOOOOOOALLLLL!!! CRISTIANO RONALDO CONVERTS FROM THE SPOT AND HE DELIVERS UNDER PRESSURE!!!! THE JUVENTUS CAN NOW REACH OUT AND TOUCH THE TITLE! JUVENTUS AHEAD. STRAKOSHA PREDICTS CORRECTLY, GOES TO HIS LEFT AND EVEN GETS A HAND TO IT, BUT THE BALL WAS STRUCK TOO FAST AND TOO FURIOUS(LY)!!!
50' PENALTY TO JUVE!!!! Scratch that!! The VAR confirms the hand ball was indeed, inside the box. It's that man, Ronaldo.
48' Free-kick at the cusp of the box! Ronaldo and CO. contesting that the handball, Baston while defending Ronaldo's strike was inside the box. VAR is taking a look. Debate continues. Hold on! The referee was heading the wrong way for the screen before realising it! Everyone is under pressure, haha!
46' GOALLINE CLEARANCE BY LAZIO! Juventus, through Dybala and Ronaldo, are denied by a whisker!!! How lsoe ws that? Dybala, inside the box, wriggles past three defenders and somehow, just somehow, manages to squirt a pass to Ronaldo. The Portugal striker is denied by the keeper before the deflection is cleared off the line.
Referee blows his whistle and a big test of Lazio's test and Juve's nerve arrives!!!
SECONF HALF BEGINS!
The second half a lot of promise! Let's get going and find out which team breaks the deadlock.
In all honesty, folks, that first half deserved a goal. Ronaldo headed the ball wide twice, from six yards out. Sandro was denied by the upright, while a ferocious strike from Immobile also met the same fate. Costa was on target from a long-range effort. Luiz Felipe of Lazio has contained Ramsey very well so far and the visitor will need him to do more of that in the second half. Milinkovic-Savic hasn't seen much of the ball in the Juve half, apart from that one chance he created for Cataldi.
HALF-TIME!!
45+3' Late first-half corner for Lazio. Parolo swings it in and Anderson's header is wide. With that, a brilliant first half comes to an end
So, both teams have been denied by the upright in this half. It do be like that sometimes!
Three minutes have been added to the first half.
44' IMMOBILE HITS THE POST!! Lazio, was quick to win the ball back and Immobile, the league's top-scorer so far, finds himself in space. He takes a few touches and rifles the ball towards Juve goal. But the strike ricochet's off the right post. AGONIZINGLY CLOSE! Bonucci was caught ball-watching there. He didn't attack and the indecisiveness almost cost his team a goal.
43' FOUL! Ramsey with a high boot to Acerbi and the foul is awarded to Lazio, which looked to attack down the middle only to be cut off.
Five minutes to half-time, plus added minutes. Ronaldo has come close to scoring at least twice tonight and Juventus has been dominating since the cooling break.
37' RONALDO GOES WIDE, AGAIN! The in-swinger from the corner post is met by Ronaldo's header, who had time to place it to either side of the goalkeeper, but drags it wide.
36' RABIOTTT, SO CLOSE! What an excellent solo run from Rabiot. Ronaldo frees up Rabiot, who darts down the left flank before cutting in to take a shot. The shot is high to near post and Strakosha makes a good save!
31' MISSED OPPORTUNITY! Ramsey with another brilliant forward run as he collects a pass inside the box and Ronaldo is in acres of space. But Ramsey, under pressure, chips it over Ronaldo. Juve is getting closer!
30' FELIPE INTERCEPTS AGAIN! Luiz Felipe has been the best defender for Lazio so far. For the third time tonight, he is quick to read the play as he steals the ball off Ramsey near the left byline and clears it off danger.
29' DE LIGT CLEARS! A floating header is meant for Immobile, who is lurking near the box but De Ligt shows goos strength as he fends off the danger.
28' The match resumes and once again, Juve has possession.
26' Here comes the first cooling break of the match. Some good attacking moves by Juventus and some important blocks by the Lazio backline. Lazio, however, has looked threatening while attacking and you can sense the goal is not far way.
24' BLOCKED OFF RONALDO! Quick passing outside the box between Juve players and the ball is played to Ronaldo, whose shot is blocked by the defender.
23' FOUL! Bastos brings down Ronaldo with a heavy pull. This is Bastos' second foul on Ronaldo tonight.
21' RONALDO WIDE AGAIN! Cuadrado was fouled down the left and off the free-kick, Ronaldo towers over the defenders to win the header but failed to hit it on target.
20' BLOCKED BY FELIPE! Juventus on the break down the left, the ball is squared to Aaron Ramsey by Ranaldo from the left, whose left-footed shot is blocked by Luiz Felipe.
19' Throw-in for Juve! Cataldi wins the ball off Dybala with a great tackle.
17' DEFLECTED JUST WIDE! Milinkovic-Savic at his best. Wins the header off two Juve defenders at the edge of the box and lays it perfectly for Cataldi right outside the box, whose shot on goal is defllected for a corner, but nothing comes off it.
16' Immobile with a long ball to Anderson on the left flank but Cuadrado tracks on time to cut it off.
Juventus enjoying the lion's share of the ball so far. Patient in its build-up and ever-so threatening.
11' OFF THE POST! Oh, how close was that from Sandro. Dybala's ball is collected by De Ligt, who taps it back to Sandro. The header hits the upright. SO CLOSE!
10' FOUL! Bastos and Ronaldo tussle for a header and the former hits the latter with the elbow. Free-kick for Juventus. Dybala floats it in.
9' WIDE FROM RONALDO! Dybala sets up Ronaldo with a delightful return pass down the right and the striker squares it low and hard, but the ball rolls out for a goalkick as no Juventus shirts could get to the end of it on time. Ambitious that, but that's what defines Ronaldo other than many other qualities.
8' SAVE! Douglas Costa finds himself in space down the centre. He takes a couple of touches before unleashing a fierce drive on goal. But the ball is right down the centre of goal and Lazio 'keeper Strakosha pouches it with ease.
7' BLOCKED AND CORNER! First of the game goes to Lazio. Immobile lays it quickly to Caicedo inide the box, but the returning Bonucci puts in a timely block. Nothing comes off the corner.
Ronaldo is one goal away from becoming the fastest to 50 Serie A goals.
3' Juventus holding possesion early on as Lazio look to counter. Immobile steals the ball from the crowd and Milinkovic-Savic is set free on the right. His cross is headed away by Cuadrado.
Juventus gets the match underway!
KICK-OFF!!
===============
BIG NEWS FROM THE JUVENTUS CAMP. Higuain suffered a warm-up injury. So, Dybala starts
Juventus is unbeaten at home this season. Could Immobile's Lazio beat Ronaldo's Juventus?
Lazio makes it way out first with the referees. Followed by the home team Juventus.
Right then, the players have made their way to the pitch
LIVE UPDATES:
-> We are just 15 minutes away from the start. Who you got? Head over to Twitter handle (@sportstarweb) and let us know.
->Both teams, Juventus and Lazio, were neck-to-neck in the battle for the top spot until the coronavirus stoppage. Come football's return to the pitch, the form of these two sides has dipped.
-> Ronaldo's Juventus lost the Coppa Italia final to Napoli soon after the restart. Moreoer, it is winless in its pass three match. A 3-3 draw against Sassuolo in this previous encounter was preceded by a 2-2 draw Atalanta. AC Milan, before this match, had beaten Juve 4-2 at home.
-> Despite the side dropping points, it continues remain atop and a lot has to do with the its fierce competitor dropping points.
-> Simone Inzhagi's Lazio had lost only two out of the 26 matches before the league came to a grinding halt.
-> Moreover, Ciro Immobile's Lazio was just four points adrift at point, but now sees itself placed 4th and eight points away. It drew 0-0 to Udinese in its previous match. Earlier, it lost 2-1 to both Sassuolo and Lecce.
-> Lazio will heavily depend on the exploits of its striker Ciro Immobile, who is currently the top goal-scorer in the league with 29.
-> Right behind him is Cristiano Ronaldo at 28.
STARTING XIs are out:
Juventus (4-3-3): Wojciech Szczesny; Juan Cuadrado, Matthijs De Ligt, Leonardo Bonucci, Alex Sandro; Adrien Rabiot, Aaron Ramsey, Rodrigo Bentancur; Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain, Douglas Costa
Lazio (3-5-2): Thomas Strakosha; Luiz Felipe, Francesco Acerbi, Bastos; Manuel Lazzari, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Marco Parolo, Danilo Cataldi, Djavan Anderson; Ciro Immobile, Felipe Caicedo
==============
CURRENT POSITION IN THE TABLE
Juventus: 1st (M-33 | W-24 | D-5 | L-4 | Points-77 )
Lazio: 4th (M-33 | W-21 | D-6 | L-6 | Points-69 )
==============
RECENT FORM
Juventus Serie A form guide: W,W,W,L,D,D
Lazio Serie A form guide: W,W,L,L,L,D
============
HEAD-TO-HEAD (last 10 game)
Juventus: 7
Lazio: 3
Draws: 0
============
MATCH PREVIEW:
Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri has brushed off questions about his future with the Serie A leader, saying that such speculation is simply part of the sport and that he intends to honour his contract.
“My future is tomorrow,” Sarri told reporters ahead of Monday's match at home to fourth-placed Lazio. “We have to concentrate on our the matches, starting from tomorrow. The rest is a consequence.
“Asking me about if I am worried for my future is like asking a Formula One driver if he is afraid to go fast,” added the 61-year-old.
“It's part of my profession -- if you win, you are doing well, if you lose, you are doing badly... Football is difficult, wherever you are.”
Sarri is in the first year of a three-season contract but it has been a bumpy ride even though the Turin side is closing in on a ninth successive title.
He has struggled to impose his own style of football, having to build a team around 35-year-old forward Cristiano Ronaldo, and Juve has failed to win any of its last three games. it also lost the Coppa Italia final to Napoli on penalties last month.
Sarri said the current situation, where the final 12 rounds of Serie A matches have been crammed into six weeks following a three-month stoppage due to the coronavirus, was tough for all the teams.
“It's a strange moment because ... it's difficult for everyone,” he said.
Juventus has 77 points with five matches to play, six ahead of Inter Milan -- which was away to AS Roma later on Sunday -- and Atalanta, which has played one game more. Lazio has 69 after taking only one point from its last four matches.
PREDICTED XI
Juventus: Wojciech Szczesny; Cuadrado, Matthijs De Ligt, Leonardo Bonucci, Alex Sandro; Adrien Rabiot, Miralem Pjanic, Rodrigo Bentancur; Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala, Douglas Costa
Lazio: Thomas Strakosha; Luiz Felipe, Francesco Acerbi, Bastos; Manuel Lazzari, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Marco Parolo, Alberto, Jordan Lukaku; Ciro Immobile, Felipe Caicedo
Comments
SHARE