Category: <b>Match Reports</b><br><br>A carnival atmosphere enveloped the Delle Alpi stadium on Sunday afternoon as Juventus hosted Palermo in the last home game of the season. With the stadium close to capacity the fans turned out it their thousands to urge the bianconeri forward.
As the teams left the field after a hard-fought ninety minutes the celebrations continued with Juventus winning 2-1 and taking a three-point lead into the final game of the season.
Although Juve had the majority of the possession in the first half they struggled to find the final ball and became increasingly frustrated by the defensive approach of their opponents. Nedved twice went close for the bianconeri, but saw his shots well saved on both occasions. Seventeen minutes in the Czech was again involved as Juve created a well-worked opportunity. His headed flick-on from Trezeguet’s pass found Ibrahimovic in space in the area. The Swede’s first touch was good but the Palermo defence managed to clear his attempted pass back to Trezeguet.
The turning point came half an hour into the game when Camoranesi capitalised on some shaky defending by the Sicilians and played a perfect cross to the near post. The pass was nervously flicked-on by a Palermo defender and fell at the feet of Nedved. The feisty left-winger made, striking the ball past Agliardi to put Juventus one-nil ahead. Di Michele and Conteh tried their luck as Palermo tried to find an equaliser, but Juventus looked the more likely of the two squads to score the next goal, a right-footed effort from Nedved scraping the left hand post.
Juventus began the second half in explosive form. Nedved and Trezeguet both went close before Zlatan latched onto a brilliant chipped through-ball from Camoranesi to double Juve’s lead seven minutes after the restart, coolly slotting the ball between Agliardi’s legs. However, ten minutes later it was Palermo’s turn to celebrate. Godeas’s fierce shot flying beyond Buffon and into the top corner as the Sicilians pulled a goal back.
Despite the scare Juventus never looked overly troubled and saw out the remainder of the game without serious problems. As the players left the field they stopped to acknowledge their fans, all of whom will be hoping for a repeat performance at Reggina next weekend.
JUVENTUS-PALERMO 2-1
GOALS: 31’ Nedved, 51’ Ibrahimovic, 62’ Godeas
JUVENTUS: Buffon; Balzaretti (80’ Zebina), Kovac, Cannavaro, Zambrotta; Camoranesi, Emerson, Vieira, Nedved (78’ Mutu); Ibrahimovic (60’ Del Piero), Trezeguet. Coach. Capello. Substitutes: Abbiati, Thuram, Blasi, Giannichedda.
PALERMO: Agliardi; Zaccardo, Barzagli (45’), Conteh, Grosso; Mutarelli, Barone, Gonzalez (74’ Makinwa), Santana; Di Michele (62’ Caracciolo), Godeas. Coach. Papadopulo. Substitutes: Andujar, Accardi, Codrea, Brienza.
REFEREE: De Santis M.
CAUTIONED: 35’pt Camoranesi, 36’pt Vieira, 4’st Conteh, 29’st Zambrotta
SPECTATORS: 56.488
RECEIPTS: 603.842<br><br>Source: Juventus.com
As the teams left the field after a hard-fought ninety minutes the celebrations continued with Juventus winning 2-1 and taking a three-point lead into the final game of the season.
Although Juve had the majority of the possession in the first half they struggled to find the final ball and became increasingly frustrated by the defensive approach of their opponents. Nedved twice went close for the bianconeri, but saw his shots well saved on both occasions. Seventeen minutes in the Czech was again involved as Juve created a well-worked opportunity. His headed flick-on from Trezeguet’s pass found Ibrahimovic in space in the area. The Swede’s first touch was good but the Palermo defence managed to clear his attempted pass back to Trezeguet.
The turning point came half an hour into the game when Camoranesi capitalised on some shaky defending by the Sicilians and played a perfect cross to the near post. The pass was nervously flicked-on by a Palermo defender and fell at the feet of Nedved. The feisty left-winger made, striking the ball past Agliardi to put Juventus one-nil ahead. Di Michele and Conteh tried their luck as Palermo tried to find an equaliser, but Juventus looked the more likely of the two squads to score the next goal, a right-footed effort from Nedved scraping the left hand post.
Juventus began the second half in explosive form. Nedved and Trezeguet both went close before Zlatan latched onto a brilliant chipped through-ball from Camoranesi to double Juve’s lead seven minutes after the restart, coolly slotting the ball between Agliardi’s legs. However, ten minutes later it was Palermo’s turn to celebrate. Godeas’s fierce shot flying beyond Buffon and into the top corner as the Sicilians pulled a goal back.
Despite the scare Juventus never looked overly troubled and saw out the remainder of the game without serious problems. As the players left the field they stopped to acknowledge their fans, all of whom will be hoping for a repeat performance at Reggina next weekend.
JUVENTUS-PALERMO 2-1
GOALS: 31’ Nedved, 51’ Ibrahimovic, 62’ Godeas
JUVENTUS: Buffon; Balzaretti (80’ Zebina), Kovac, Cannavaro, Zambrotta; Camoranesi, Emerson, Vieira, Nedved (78’ Mutu); Ibrahimovic (60’ Del Piero), Trezeguet. Coach. Capello. Substitutes: Abbiati, Thuram, Blasi, Giannichedda.
PALERMO: Agliardi; Zaccardo, Barzagli (45’), Conteh, Grosso; Mutarelli, Barone, Gonzalez (74’ Makinwa), Santana; Di Michele (62’ Caracciolo), Godeas. Coach. Papadopulo. Substitutes: Andujar, Accardi, Codrea, Brienza.
REFEREE: De Santis M.
CAUTIONED: 35’pt Camoranesi, 36’pt Vieira, 4’st Conteh, 29’st Zambrotta
SPECTATORS: 56.488
RECEIPTS: 603.842<br><br>Source: Juventus.com
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