by Petar Todorovski
Juventus luckily defeated Lazio on Sunday fixture with 2-1 with Lazio’s keeper Muslera huge mistake. When it seemed that the battle would end as a draw Krasic made the last not so hopeful attempt, but Muslera helped him to bring Juventus in leading position seconds before the full time whistle.
With this victory Juventus improved to the second place with 30 points, sharing the position with Napoli and Lazio which both have worse goal difference. Leaders Milan are six points ahead.
The game began well for the side from Turin. About 90 seconds after start Alberto Aquilani found Giorgio Chiellini in the box while defender smashed the ball with header to open the score sheet. He expressed a lot of confidence in his way of celebration and Juventus continued in the same manner as well.
Stunned Lazio players couldn’t find their game and Juve kept creating chances, without any result, however. Fabio Quagliarella had the most serious chance in that period after Milos Krasic pass.
That didn’t last for long and Lazio returned into the game. Juve goalie Marco Storari created a mess in his own box after his terrible effort to keep the ball in his hands. Mauro Zarate reacted best and leveled the result after easy tapping the ball into the net in 14th minute.
Nevertheless the Bianconeri kept their heads up and continued seeking for second goal. Alberto Aquilani was closest to do so, but his beautiful free kick ended in the bar. He created few more opportunities but his team mates’ efforts weren’t good enough. Milos Krasic tried to do something, too, without success.
Last few minutes of the first half were only a midfield struggle for both teams. It was probably more frustrating for home players, having in mind the furious ball kick of Felipe Melo when referee whistled end.
However, the frustration turned into motivation and Juve started the second half determined to regain the lead. Fabio Quagliarella and Felipe Melo had the first serious efforts, while substitute Simone Pepe missed the best chance. Vincenzo Iaquinta had a nice shot, too. Lazio didn’t do anything in the meantime.
The game was near to the end when the decisive moment happened. With only a few seconds till the end Milos Krasic try to make anything from Momo Sissoko’s long range pass. He managed to enter into the box and attempted to pass to whomever. His pass would have never ended into the net but Muslera made that happen. His one handed shot stopping effort wasn’t necessary and only damaged his team. Juventus was leading again, but this time there was no time for Aquile to equalize.
Juventini couldn’t hide their delight by the late earned victory. Defender and scorer of the opener Giorgio Chiellini said: “We suffered a lot against a strong side but looking back, we deserved to win. Winning like this is always wonderful.”
Coah Luigi Del Neri was thrilled by his players’ spirit. “It was a deserved victory, as the team believed they could get a result,” Del Neri told Sky post-match. “The players used up a lot of energy, but these players deserved it. Tonight, we saw the willingness of the players to do well, and we celebrated in the dressing rooms after the match. The match will give the side a lift for the remainder of the season, but nothing would have changed had we drawn 1-1. What I saw from my players was impressive,” he told the press, before warning table toppers Milan that Juve is still chaing them: “Milan have players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho and Kevin Prince Boateng and techincal and physical qualities which makes them better than everyone. They are also able to win games easily. Of course, they will fight to the end, but the championship is still long, and so you don’t know what can happen in future. After Sunday’s win we are more convinced now and things are going well,” he ended.
Unlike him, Aquile coach Edy Reja was understandably disappointed. “It is disappointing because the match was already over, but we couldn’t hold on. In the end, we didn’t have enough of the ball. There is a lot of disappointment as we lost with five seconds to go,” said the unhappy coach.
Juventus kept the six points difference behind Milan and now they seem like main leader chasers. Lazio lost one more derby and now is six points behind Rossoneri, but they’re fourth placed due to bad goal difference. Next weekend Juventus travel to tricky Chievo in attempt to cut some point of the Milan’s advantage after their eventual flop at home with Roma.
