The three consecutive benches have done decidedly well for Dybala, who drags Juventus into the Bentegodi victory against Verona, a success that allows the black and whites to remain in the wake of Napoli, one point ahead in the standings.
A match that seemed marked right from the start, with Matuidi scoring after just six minutes, who rebounded after Higuain hit the post. A few mistakes too many and a couple of excellent interventions by goalkeeper Nicolas allow Verona not to be wrecked, so much so that the goal of the former Caceres smacks of mockery, which in the second half
he capitalized on a mistake by Matuidi and beat Szczesny with a great right from distance.
It was then that Dybala took the chair, who in the space of five minutes (72' and 77') scored his first right-footed brace in Serie A. The second goal, in particular, is a jewel of technique and power, with the 'Argentine striker who jumps in dribbling half of Verona's defense before putting the ball on goal
of the final 3-1: “it's very important that he scores again – said Allegri -I'm happy, he's happy, everyone's happy. He mustn't listen to comparisons: in the next few years he will be the best together with Neymar. He himself knew that he was going through a delicate moment, the psychological condition
it's all in football."
An important victory, which however does not fully satisfy the Juventus coach: “Generally speaking, we made too many mistakes. there is still work to do. Fortunately we return to Turin with the three points: we kept pace with Napoli, who closed an extraordinary 2017, and stretched out on the others, who however are not left out because there are still so many games to play. But we have to look at Napoli, currently ahead. Winning away games is never easy: this is the decisive moment of the championship, because there is a cycle of very complicated matches. Congratulations to Napoli who have scored so many points, play great football and are a great opponent, but we are there. We have 19 games to overcome him…”.
Those who seemed capable of being able to enter the fight for the Scudetto were Roma, who however lost other precious points against Sassuolo. The Giallorossi have a match to make up for (January 24 at Marassi against Sampdoria) but have shown some signs of tiredness lately.
Even against Sassuolo, Roma struggled more than they should, and despite the advantage signed by
Pellegrini was unable to finish the match, conceding the equalizer with a header from Missiroli: “If we want to become even bigger, we can't afford to make so many mistakes – commented coach Di Francesco -. We didn't manage the advantage well, we should have closed it earlier
and then Sassuolo deserved the draw. I hope it's a moment that can happen, we're not as brilliant as we could be. We created less than usual but we had to manage the advantage better”-
Still dry Dzeko, whose abstinence from goals is starting to worry: “I'm sorry that he can't score and I also wonder why he can't. He creates many chances but did not find the net. He remains an important player for us and I hope he unlocks himself. He puts himself at the team's disposal and perhaps this takes something away from him in the goal area. He's one of the players who shoots the most on goal in the league, not scoring then becomes a psychological problem. This is why it must be unlocked ”.
The Var is the protagonist at the Olimpico, who correctly evaluates two episodes. On Dzeko's goal there is the attacker's irregular position, on Florenzi's the block of Under who started in an irregular position is rightly signaled. Not the best way to end the year. The delay from Naples and Juventus begins
to get heavy.
