Friendlies: Juve test Magpies
Sunday 29 July, 2007
Claudio Ranieri can be satisfied with a good Juventus performance in their 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United, as his men had plenty of chances.
Coach Ranieri and former Magpies flop Jean-Alain Boumsong returned to British soil this afternoon for their first real pre-season friendly at St James’ Park.
Although the Bianconeri are much further behind in their training schedule with Serie A kick-off a month away, they maintained a lot of the possession and had good chances with Vincenzo Iaquinta, Pavel Nedved, David Trezeguet and Marco Marchionni.
However, it was Newcastle who struck twice thanks to an Albert Luque penalty kick for Jonathan Zebina’s challenge on James Milner.
Youngster Andy Carroll came on as a substitute for Luque and within five minutes had pounced on the loose ball punched away from an Obafemi Martins shot, his first senior goal for the Magpies.
Just before the break there was some desperate defending from the home side to deny both Marchionni and Nedved’s follow-up.
Charles N’Zogbia struck the side-netting and Iaquinta fired off target from a good chance set up by Nedved’s deflected strike.
Former Chelsea midfielder Tiago Mendes also wasted a very promising opportunity with a weak volley from Marchionni’s cross.
Shay Given was kept busy in the second half by beating away a powerful finish from the inspirational Marchionni and was given a scare by Trezeguet.
Gianluigi Buffon pushed N’Zogbia’s free kick over the bar and the follow-up corner kick among a crowd of legs.
Nedved really should have scored when Raffaele Palladino’s cut-back found him unmarked in the closing stages, but their early pre-season preparations have inevitably affected Juve’s sharpness.
All in all, Ranieri can be satisfied with the performance against a side that is ready to start a Premier League campaign in a matter of days.
Giorgio Chiellini was played in the second half as a substitute, perhaps his final appearance before the £7m move to Manchester City.
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