Juventus moved up to third in Serie A as they crept over the line to secure a 1-0 victory at Hellas Verona on Thursday night.
The first half saw Verona look more fluid in their attacking ventures, though both sides lacked clear-cut chances on goal. Ibrahim Sulemana struck wide from range early on, while Manuel Locatelli’s hit from 25 yards was pushed behind by Lorenzo Montipo.
Kean managed to break the deadlock just after the hour mark. Adrien Rabiot slipped in the young forward, whose strike took nicks off both Pawel Dawidowicz and Montipo before trickling in.
Verona looked to respond as Kevin Lasagne cracked one well over from distance before he then miskicked from a Filippo Terracciano as Juve cleared their lines.
The visitors were given a brief scare late on when Leonardo Bonucci was penalised and the hosts given a spot kick, but a VAR review showed substitute Simone Verdi booting the Euro 2020 winner rather than the other way round.
Things did take a turn for the worse when Alex Sandro was sent off taking one for the team and bringing down Lasagna as he raced in on goal. The resulting free kick sailed over the bar harmlessly and Juve saw out the final few minutes a player down to secure all three points.
While Juve recently exited the Champions League in disappointing fashion, their recent form shows there is reason for optimism after a few tough months for manager Massimiliano Allegri. This win was Juve’s fifth in row in the league.
However, they look set to compete for a Champions League spot at best, with AC Milan looking likely to be current runaway leaders Napoli’s main competition for the Serie A title this season.
GK: Lorenzo Montipo (7); CB: Pawel Dawidowicz (7), CB: Federico Ceccherini (6); CB: Isak Hien (7); RWB: Filippo Terracciano (7), CM: Martin Hongla (7), CM: Ibrahim Sulemana (7), LWB: Josh Doig (6); RF: Kevin Lasagna (7), ST: Milan Djuric (7), LF: Yayah Kallon (6).
Subs: Darko Lazovic (), Miguel Veloso (7), Simone Verdi (6), Koray Gunter (6), Thomas Henry (6)
GK: Mattia Perin (7); CB: Gleison Bremer (7) CB: Leonardo Bonucci (7); CB: Danilo (7) RWB: Juan Cuadrado (8), CM: Nicolo Fagioli (7), CM: Manuel Locatelli (7), CM: Adrien Rabiot (8), LWB: Filip Kostic (7); ST: Arkadiusz Milik (7), ST: Moise Kean (7).
Subs: Leandro Paredes (7), Fabio Miretti (6), Angel Di Maria (6), Alex Sandro (5).
Credit: 90min.com
