Juventus remain unbeaten with convincing win over SPAL
Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Mario Mandzukic were enough to see Juventus remain top of Serie A as they won 2-0 against SPAL on Saturday night.
Juventus 2-0 SPAL: match report
Juventus remain unbeaten in Serie A after a 2-0 victory over SPAL in Turin on Saturday night. The attack, lauded as one of the best in Europe, was good at the Allianz Stadium but their defense was in control against an ambitious SPAL side all night.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring after 29 minutes despite a really good start by the visitors. A swinging cross from Pjanic was met on the half-volley by the Portuguese as he side-footed it home.
SPAL started the game well but as soon as Juventus scored that, they were in control and never looked like losing.
They sat back for long spells as SPAL frustrated themselves kicking the ball against the black and white wall that confronted them.
Their hopes were dashed even further when Mandzukic poked home from a rebound caused by a wicked Douglas Costa effort.
That goal came after an hour and Juventus retreated as SPAL continued to flog a dead horse by attacking a resolute and entirely comfortable Juventus back four.
The more defensive they got, the more dangerous they looked too as Ronaldo and his cohorts continued to counter at speed and with purpose.
Juventus remain top of Serie A and welcome Valencia to their home stadium in the Champions League on Tuesday. Based on this performance, Valencia will need a huge performance and a special plan in order to break down this formidable defense.
Juventus vs SPAL live online: match updates and commentary
Juventus vs SPAL: Serie A preview
Juventus, Ronaldo and co. return to action after the international break and will play their 13th game of the season against SPAL in Turin on Saturday night. They are unbeaten in each of those games with just one draw to their name alongside 11 wins. SPAL, on the other hand, sit in 15th with seven losses so far this season.
Max Allegri does not have Sami Khedira or Emre Can with the latter recovering from surgery on a thyroid - he has returned to training and has almost recovered fully. Khedira returned in the last game but only played 16 minutes. He suffered a fresh ankle injury in training recently and will miss the visit of SPAL. Federico Bernardeschi is also out with a muscular injury. Cristiano Ronaldo did not play for Portugal during the international break and should start after an extended break.
SPAL's Francesco Vicari is out injured but Everton Luiz is back after serving a one-game suspension. They have not won in three games but their last victory came against Roma when they won 0-2 away from home. They will be trying to spring a similar surprise on Juventus on Saturday night and will need it as they sit four points off the relegation places with a game in hand.