[Serie A] Juventus - Reggina (79 Viewers)
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A splendid Alessandro Del Piero strike proved enough to see off Reggina after a hard-fought game with more than a few scares for Juve.
The Amaranto are only one of three teams to have beaten Juventus in Serie A so far this season and Fabio Capello wanted revenge for that controversial 2-1 loss.
David Trezeguet and Pavel Nedved are out injured, while Ruben Olivera is suspended, so Marcelo Zalayeta stayed in the trident attack. Reggina were missing Jacopo Balestri and hitman Emiliano Bonazzoli through a ban.
It was Reggina who had the first chance after eight minutes, as Giacomo Tedesco robbed the ball in midfield and ran down the left flank, but Gigi Buffon just about managed to parry Marco Borriello's diving header from close range.
Nicola Pavarini smothered a weak Zalayeta header, but Borriello was again dangerous with an angled drive as Reggina repeatedly found acres of space down the left.
The visitors were beginning to concern Juve and Borriello nodded Shunsuke Nakamura's corner kick just past the post.
The Bianconeri tried to put more pressure on towards half-time, but were hardly able to trouble the attentive Amaranto defence.
Alessio Tacchinardi replaced Manuele Blasi at half-time and Juve were definitely more aggressive. Mauro Camoranesi curled in a fine cross for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his header rattled the crossbar with Pavarini beaten.
The Bianconeri were again unlucky soon after, as Alessandro Del Piero unleashed a fearsome right-foot strike from just outside the box that also thumped the frame of the goal.
Zalayeta's weak finish was easily gathered after some great build-up play from Del Piero, but the deadlock was eventually broken in spectacular fashion.
On 65 minutes Jonathan Zebina charged down the right, Ibrahimovic's inspired backheel found Del Piero in space and he swept home with his left foot from seven yards. It was some fantastic team play from the Bianconeri who looked like a different team compared to the first half performance.
Reggina refused to give in and Borriello brought another tough save out of Buffon, the goalkeeper standing his ground to beat away the strike from close range.
Del Piero's confidence was up and he showed marvellous footwork to dribble past two defenders, while Pavarini was fortunate there was no-one to take advantage when he fumbled a Zambrotta cross. Reggina were unlucky as hitman Borriello limped off with a calf injury.
The Juve captain left another two defenders for dead and was brought down by Ivan Franceschini on the very edge of the penalty area. Ibrahimovic blasted the resulting free kick over the bar.
Capello switched to a 4-4-2 system by introducing Gianluca Pessotto for Zalayeta. Reggina remained dangerous, as Juve-owned Uzbeki substitute Ilyas Zeytulaev ran past two players and his shot whistled past the far post.
Giandomenico Mesto caused another scare with a solo run squeezed out for a corner by Fabio Cannavaro. Desperate to get back into the game, they also threw on another Bianconeri loan star, attacking midfielder Viktor Boudianski.
Cannavaro's inadequate clearance eventually fell to Mesto and the Under-21 international's low drive was just a few inches past the upright with Buffon stranded. Lilian Thuram stuck out a leg to charge down Colucci's effort in stoppages, but Juventus held on for the precious win.
The Amaranto are only one of three teams to have beaten Juventus in Serie A so far this season and Fabio Capello wanted revenge for that controversial 2-1 loss.
David Trezeguet and Pavel Nedved are out injured, while Ruben Olivera is suspended, so Marcelo Zalayeta stayed in the trident attack. Reggina were missing Jacopo Balestri and hitman Emiliano Bonazzoli through a ban.
It was Reggina who had the first chance after eight minutes, as Giacomo Tedesco robbed the ball in midfield and ran down the left flank, but Gigi Buffon just about managed to parry Marco Borriello's diving header from close range.
Nicola Pavarini smothered a weak Zalayeta header, but Borriello was again dangerous with an angled drive as Reggina repeatedly found acres of space down the left.
The visitors were beginning to concern Juve and Borriello nodded Shunsuke Nakamura's corner kick just past the post.
The Bianconeri tried to put more pressure on towards half-time, but were hardly able to trouble the attentive Amaranto defence.
Alessio Tacchinardi replaced Manuele Blasi at half-time and Juve were definitely more aggressive. Mauro Camoranesi curled in a fine cross for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his header rattled the crossbar with Pavarini beaten.
The Bianconeri were again unlucky soon after, as Alessandro Del Piero unleashed a fearsome right-foot strike from just outside the box that also thumped the frame of the goal.
Zalayeta's weak finish was easily gathered after some great build-up play from Del Piero, but the deadlock was eventually broken in spectacular fashion.
On 65 minutes Jonathan Zebina charged down the right, Ibrahimovic's inspired backheel found Del Piero in space and he swept home with his left foot from seven yards. It was some fantastic team play from the Bianconeri who looked like a different team compared to the first half performance.
Reggina refused to give in and Borriello brought another tough save out of Buffon, the goalkeeper standing his ground to beat away the strike from close range.
Del Piero's confidence was up and he showed marvellous footwork to dribble past two defenders, while Pavarini was fortunate there was no-one to take advantage when he fumbled a Zambrotta cross. Reggina were unlucky as hitman Borriello limped off with a calf injury.
The Juve captain left another two defenders for dead and was brought down by Ivan Franceschini on the very edge of the penalty area. Ibrahimovic blasted the resulting free kick over the bar.
Capello switched to a 4-4-2 system by introducing Gianluca Pessotto for Zalayeta. Reggina remained dangerous, as Juve-owned Uzbeki substitute Ilyas Zeytulaev ran past two players and his shot whistled past the far post.
Giandomenico Mesto caused another scare with a solo run squeezed out for a corner by Fabio Cannavaro. Desperate to get back into the game, they also threw on another Bianconeri loan star, attacking midfielder Viktor Boudianski.
Cannavaro's inadequate clearance eventually fell to Mesto and the Under-21 international's low drive was just a few inches past the upright with Buffon stranded. Lilian Thuram stuck out a leg to charge down Colucci's effort in stoppages, but Juventus held on for the precious win.