On his birthday, the Juve captain, Bonucci, has rejected Venezia from taking any point from the Allianz Stadium with two important goals.
Match Report
Leonardo Bonucci’s brace from knocked-on corners on his 35th birthday gave Juventus a very hard-fought victory, as Venezia slide to a ninth straight defeat despite the new coach.
The Bianconeri were still in the thick of an injury crisis, missing Mattia De Sciglio, Juan Cuadrado, Manuel Locatelli, Federico Chiesa, Weston McKennie and Kaio Jorge, so 18-year-old Fabio Miretti was given his first start. The Lagunari were rock bottom and sacked coach Paolo Zanetti after eight consecutive defeats, promoting youth team boss Andrea Soncin. Sergio Romero, Tyronne Ebuehi, Marco Modolo and Luca Lezzerini were sidelined.
Denis Zakaria fired over on the half-volley, followed by Luca Pellegrini’s ferocious strike from distance that smashed against the crossbar.
It was an ideal 35th birthday for Leonardo Bonucci, who was ready to nod in from four yards when Miretti’s free kick was knocked back at the far post by Matthijs de Ligt.
Wojciech Szczesny had to smother the Mattia Aramu low strike and Thomas Henry’s header whistled inches wide with the goalkeeper stranded.
Zakaria risked a red card for his studs-up challenge on Pietro Ceccaroni, receiving a yellow card. Antonio Vacca had to come off after a nasty knock to the nose, while Ethan Ampadu made a great tackle on Vlahovic in the box.
Alvaro Morata’s cross-shot and De Ligt from distance tested Niki Maenpaa, while Ampadu made another crucial interception to stop Vlahovic sending Morata clear on goal and Adrien Rabiot’s cross was just too hard for Danilo to control at the back post.
Szczesny continued to make the most difficult saves on a Mattia Aramu free kick and on the resulting corner Aramu was left totally unmarked from 12 yards, given the time and space for a chest and volley over the bar.
Juventus did not heed the warning and Venezia got a deserved equaliser moments later. It was Aramu again, this time on the half-volley into the bottom corner from outside the D, his first goal since another equaliser against Juventus on December 11.
However, Juve fought back and restored their lead with another Bonucci effort, this time bundling over the line from a yard after Danilo’s header on a corner.
Match Events
0' KICK-OFF! Who can win this match?
4' OFF THE BAR! Pellegrini nearly scores
6' GOAL! Juventus 1-0 Venezia (Bonucci)
18' CLOSE! Miretti's shot saved
23' CLOSE! Henry's header inches wide
24' Yellow Card! Zakaria booked
46' Yellow Card! Pellegrini booked
47' CHANCE! De Ligt's long shot saved
68' CHANCE! Aramu's free-kick denied by Szczesny
70' GOAL! Juventus 1-1 Venezia (Aramu)
75' GOAL! Juventus 2-1 Venezia (Bonucci)
Line-ups
Juventus XI: Bonucci, Szczesny, Danilo, Morata, Rabiot, Bernardeschi, Zakaria, De Ligt, L.Pellegrini, D. Vlahović, F. Miretti
Subs: Chiellini, Sandro, Pinsoglio, Perin, Rugani, Dybala, Arthur, Kean, Ake
Venezia XI: N. Mäenpää, A. Vacca, M. Aramu, D. Črnigoj, R. Haps, T. Henry, Mateju, Caldara, P. Ceccaroni, Cuisance, Ampadu
Subs: Nani, Dor Peretz, J. Nsame, M. Ullmann, Bruno, D. Johnsen, L. Fiordilino, Okereke, M. Svoboda, S. Kiyine, G. Busio, T. Tessmann