A display of attacking dominance and lethal finishing earned Juventus a 6-1 win over newly-promoted Pescara at the Stadio Adratico.
The Bianconeri took no prisoners as they brushed the Delfini aside with a ruthless six-goal haul. Early goals from Vidal and Quagliarella appeared to have set Antonio Conte’s men on course for a comfortable evening in Abruzzo, only for Cascione to claw the hosts back into the affair with a strong header.
But Asamoah’s bicycle kick, Giovinco’s crisp volley and a further brace from Quagliarella extinguished any hopes of a Pescara fightback to take the Bianconeri four points clear of Inter ahead of Sunday’s remaining Serie A fixtures.
Antonio Conte made just one change from the Champions League win over Nordsjaelland. After staking his claim for a spot in the starting line-up with Juve’s final goal against the Danish champions, Quagliarella was named up front alongside Giovinco.
Having rediscovered their goalscoring touch in Wednesday night’s 4-0 victory, Juventus tore into their opponents from the very off and went close to gaining the lead through Giovinco’s rasping left-footed strike which drew an early save from Perin.
The ‘Atomic Ant’, a thorn in the hosts’ defence throughout, then turned provider, feeding Vidal with a neat pass that was stroked home by the effervescent Chilean midfielder with nine minutes played.
Giovinco’s strike partner Quagliarella was next to find the back of the net, gathering Isla’s pass from the right flank before shrugging off Bocchetti’s challenge to steer the ball past Perin for a richly deserved second.
But with the Bianconeri seemingly home and dry, newly-promoted Pescara drew on their battling qualities to force their way back into the encounter. After hitting the post moments earlier through Quintero, Cascione rose highest in the area to connect with a cross from the right-hand side and plant a well-placed header out of Buffon’s reach on 25 minutes.
But Juventus were in no mood to afford the hosts an equaliser and immediately wrestled the game back in their grasp, restoring their two-goal cushion just five minutes later through Asamoah’s instinctive bicycle kick from just outside the six-yard box.
With the shackles well and truly removed, the Bianconeri were ruthless in their pursuit of further goals and added to their tally when Giovinco and Quagliarella combined to perfection on the edge of the area, leaving the former Parma frontman free to guide a firmly struck volley beyond Perin.
Four became five on the stroke of half-time, with Quagliarella doubling his tally courtesy of a crisp strike drilled confidently into the bottom corner.
The second half saw Juventus emerge with the same drive and attacking purpose. And the aggressive approach paid immediate dividends as Quagliarella bagged his hat-trick by executing a fine acrobatic effort to turn Pirlo’s corner past a shell-shocked Perin.
Angelo Alessio used the comfortable advantage as the ideal opportunity to shuffle his pack ahead of the upcoming triple-header against Lazio, Chelsea and Milan, introducing Padoin, Marrone and Bendtner to the fray in place of Isla, Chiellini and Quagliarella.
The Bianconeri played out the remainder of the encounter by keeping possession and remaining alert to tentative efforts from the hosts. Banti’s whistle drew celebrations from the travelling faithful in a capacity crowd as Juventus relaunched their title defence in emphatic fashion.
PESCARA 1-6 JUVENTUS
GOALS: Vidal 9, Quagliarella 22, Cascione 25, Asamoah 30, Giovinco 38, Quagliarella 45, Quagliarella 53
PESCARA
Perin; Cosic, Bocchetti, Capuano (Caprari 46); Zanon, Nielsen, Cascione, Quintero, Modesto; Abbruscato (Vukusic 65), Jonathas (Weiss 46).
Substitutes not used: Pelizzoli, Falso, Balzano, Romagnoli, Soddimo, Bjarnason, Celik, Togni.
Coach: Stroppa
JUVENTUS
Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini (Marrone 65); Isla (Padoin 59), Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, Asamoah; Giovinco, Quagliarella (Bendtner 68).
Substitutes not used: Storari, Rubinho, Lucio, Caceres, Lichtsteiner, Giaccherini, Matri, Bendtner, Vucinic.
Coach: Alessio
REFEREE: Banti
ASSISTANTS: Galloni, Giallatini
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Altomar
BOOKINGS: Jonathas 18, Pirlo 40, Modesto 67
Source: Juventus.com
Buy on AliExpress.com