Juventus managed to earn a third league win in a row for the first time this season after beating off a resilient Sassuolo side last night.
The Bianconeri took the lead at the beginning of the first half through a Danilo long effort, taking advantage of their numerical superiority after Pedro’s Obiang dismissal at the end of the first half.
Sassuolo somehow managed to find their way back to the match when Gregoire Defrel broke into the defensive partnership of Leonardo Bonucci and Merih Demiral.
Nonetheless, late goals from Aaron Ramsey and Cristiano Ronaldo saved face for the champions who managed to close the gap on Inter and Roma who drew at the Olimpico earlier on Sunday.
Although Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo was satistied with the result, he was also critical of his team’s display against the Neroverdi.
“It was important for us to give a sense of consistency by winning this evening, otherwise the win at Milan on Wednesday wouldn’t mean anything.
“We were a little sluggish at times this evening, but we became a little less organised and more determined, so we showed the hunger required to win the game.
“Our midfielders were too passive and the two defenders weren’t positioned properly against the striker. He was given too much space, so even though it was a good Defrel first touch, we made mistakes both in midfield and defence.” said the 2006 world cup winner to Sky Sport Italia as quoted by Football Italia.
Pirlo was also asked about the conditions of Paulo Dybala and Weston Mckennie who left the match injured during the first half.
“Dybala had a knock to the collateral ligament on the inside of his knee. We’ll evaluate it over the next few days and hope it’s nothing serious,” added Pirlo.
“McKennie already had a slight muscular problem yesterday and he felt it again after the back-heel flick, so he stopped.”
Updates regarding the conditions of the two players are expected throughout the coming few day.
