Siena 0 - 3 Juventus
Del Piero 53, 60 (J), Camoranesi 63 (J)
Alessandro Del Piero has put his injury woe behind him with a well-taken brace to sink a determined Siena side.
Del Piero claimed he wouldn't start a match until he regained full fitness, but he partnered Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Stephen Appiah replaced the injured Manuele Blasi in midfield.
Siena have struggled to get goals this season and had a tough task to take on the Serie A leaders, but their Coach was an old hand at taking on Juventus. Gigi Simoni was in charge of Inter in 1998, when a controversial penalty effectively handed the title to the Turin giants.
The home side had the first real chance after two minutes, but Davide Nicola only scuffed his volley from a promising position. Fabio Pecchia's cross then almost reached Mattia Graffied for a tap-in at the back post, but he slid in a little too late.
Juve hit back, but efforts from Mauro Camoranesi and Ibrahimovic were easily dealt with, then the Swede pounced on Argilli's error only to balloon over the bar from seven yards.
Mauro Camoranesi's backpass put Lilian Thuram in a tricky situation when two Siena players converged on him, but the World Cup winner was able to clear.
The Tuscans were surprisingly aggressive and Gianluigi Buffon performed a difficult save on Chiesa's inswinging corner kick. On 35 minutes the goalkeeper was at full stretch for another one-handed reaction save as Graffiedi was clear from eight yards, even though the move was later halted for an offside position.
The Bianconeri were finding it hard to get shots on goal, but soon after Fabio Cannavaro nodded a corner kick on to the outside of the near post. Del Piero curled a free kick not far over the bar, while Ibrahimovic chested down a pass and thumped his volley off target.
Siena were forced into a substitution at half-time, as Alfonso Camorani replaced the injured Gianluca Falsini, moving Davide Nicola to that left-back role.
Cannavaro was giving the defence real problems on set-pieces and got another header at the back post. Then Del Piero ran on to Camoranesi's through ball and hit it straight at Marco Fortin with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Ibrahimovic was having a terrible game and wasted another golden opportunity on Stephen Appiah's cross, controlling it well before ballooning it over the bar.
However, Juve eventually broke through on 53 minutes. Fortin parried Ibrahimovic's diving header on a Jonathan Zebina cross, but he could do nothing on Del Piero's follow-up from five yards. It was an important confidence booster for the captain, in his first Serie A appearance since suffering an Achilles tendon problem three weeks ago.
Siena hit back and Chiesa's volley was charged down by Thuram and almost into the path of Graffiedi, while from the resulting corner Di Donato nodded wide.
Chiesa, Graffiedi and Camorani again saw two shots blocked by some desperate Juventus defending, as Cannavaro and Gianluca Zambrotta literally flung themselves at their opponents.
But they left themselves open to the counter-attack and Del Piero struck again with a control and volley on another Zebina cross from the right. His finish went through Fortin's legs and was perfectly placed.
Not content with scoring two, Del Piero then turned goal provider for Mauro Camoranesi. His powerful free kick was redirected into the top corner by the Italian international's glancing header to sink Siena.
Siena introduced creative midfielder Davide Chiumiento, who is a youth product on loan from Juventus. Marcelo Zalayeta also replaced Ibrahimovic so he can rest ahead of Thursday's clash with Roma.
The home side refused to give in and Chiesa put in a great pass for Chiumiento, who fired a weak effort into the grateful arms of Buffon.
Zebina was running wild out on the right and his cross was redirected towards his own net by Bruno Cirillo, but Fortin recovered for a good save.
Siena: Fortin; Cirillo, Portanova, Argilli, Falsini (Camorani 46); Nicola, Pecchia (Flo 74), Du Donato, Vergassola; Graffiedi (Chiumiento 65), Chiesa
Juventus: Buffon; Zebina, Thuram, Cannavaro, Zambrotta; Camoranesi, Emerson, Appiah (Tacchinardi 85), Nedved; Ibrahimovic (Zalayeta 67), Del Piero (Kapo 78)
Ref: Bertini
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