<span class="titolo">Del Piero Keeps Juve On Track</span></p> <span class="sommario"> A first half goal by Alessandro Del Piero allowed the Bianconeri to remain in touch of league leaders Inter who still have a 3 point lead over the Old Lady.</span></p> Juventus went into this game knowing that a point would not suffice in order to keep the pace with league leaders Inter, and in the end the Bianconeri achieved their objective which leaves them so far as the only real competitors for the Nerazzurri in the title race. Genoa was tactically well placed on the pitch by Gasparini as the team did not give much space to the Old Lady’s forwards. Still, the Bianconeri took control of the game and created the most dangerous opportunities in the first half. However, it was the Rossoblu who created the first danger of the game as former Juventus player, Marco Di Vaio, shot from inside the penalty area in the 7th minute, but the ball was intercepted by Legrottaglie. From the rebound, Di Vaio shot wide. In the 18th minute, a good cross by Grygera from the right hand side found Trezeguet in the middle of the penalty box, but the Frenchman’s central header was blocked by Rubinho. Five minutes later Nedved missed a golden opportunity as he failed to connect a ball from very close range. This was Del Piero’s week following the renewal of his contract and the Juventus captain was doing his best to score a goal to celebrate the latest developments. In the 31st minute ‘Pinturicchio’ dribbled his way in the penalty area from the right hand side, but hit shot was parried by Rubinho. However, five minutes later in the 36th minute, the Juventus talisman put the Bianconeri ahead. Nedved crossed from the left hand side, Del Piero moved behind the defensive line of Genoa and slotted in with style the ball past Rubinho. Del Piero was on a high and in the 40th minute, the Italian forward produced one of his trademark free-kicks, but the Genoa keeper saved in corner. Just like in the first half, the first real opportunity of the second 45 minutes was for the visitors when Molinaro’s mis-timed header towards Buffon sent Sculli all alone in front of the Juventus keeper, but the number one of the Bianconeri proved yet again why he is the best in the world as he parried the shot in corner in the 54th minute. Leon tried his luck in the 60th minute with a direct free-kick, but his shot went just over the bar. The Grifoni started to grow in confidence, but they were unable to cause any trouble to the Old Lad’s rear-guard. In the 72nd minute, following a corner, Borriello headed inside the penalty box, but Buffon deflected over the bar. Things heated up towards the end as Claudio Ranieri was sent off after he angrily contested a referee decision in the 86th minute. Three minutes later Konko seemed to handle the ball inside the penalty are, but the referee deemed the incident as accidental. Thanks to this win, Juventus are now all alone in second place as they continue proving that surprisingly the squad is capable of fighting for the top position, even though Inter still have a 3 point lead over their rivals. Starting Line-ups: <u>Juventus (4-4-2):</u> Buffon; Grygera, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, Molinaro; Salihamidzic, Nocerino, Zanetti, Nedved; Del Piero, Trezeguet <u>Genoa (3-4-3):</u> Rubinho; Lucarelli, Bovo, Konko; Rossi, Milanetto, Juric, Danilo; Sculli, Borriello, Di Vaio</p> <span class="titolo"></span></p>
