Emanuele Giaccherini scored a last gasp winner to give Juventus a win that takes them nine points clear at the top of Serie A.
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Substitute Emanuele Giaccherini struck in injury time to snatch a 1-0 win for an uninspired Juventus at home to Catania on Sunday to increase their Serie A lead to nine points.
Giaccherini had only been on the field 15 minutes, during which time he’d been booked for diving, when he shot home from the centre of the box following a storming run from Paul Pogba down the right.
That last-gasp goal completed a joyful day for the reigning champions as their nearest challengers Napoli crashed to a 2-0 defeat at struggling Chievo.
Juve came up against determined opponents who refused to relinquish an inch of space in defence and the hosts lacked the inspiration to break them down.
Mirko Vucinic did hit a post in the first period while Claudio Marchisio came close to opening the score but Catania remained resolute and determined.
After the break young French prospect Pogba tested Argentine goalkeeper Mariano Andujar while Marchisio swept a shot just over the bar but Juventus, with Andrea Pirlo stifled in midfield, simply could not find a breakthrough.
That was until Giaccherini’s injury-time intervention and even after that fellow substitute Fabio Quagliarella should have put the gloss on the score when he was sent through one-on-one with Andujar but the goalkeeper trumped the forward.
“It’s been a very demanding week between Napoli, the Champions League and Catania,” said Juve coach Antonio Conte.
“Tomorrow (Monday) I’ve given (the players) a day off, which wasn’t planned, just to recuperate.
“Every week is becoming crucial, we need to place each brick in place and if we then do well enough to achieve the half of it, we’ll relax a little.”
1st Half Highlights
2nd Half Highlights