AS Roma vs Juventus Report

AS Roma

1 vs 0

Juventus

Played
February 16, 2013 2:45 PM EST
Stadio Olimpico — Roma
Referee:‬ G. Rocchi‎

Roma 1-0 Juventus: Champions shocked by Totti thunderbolt

The Giallorossi skipper delivered a decisive blow with a blistering 25-yard drive that gave the capital club its first Serie A win of 2013.

Roma ended a run of six Serie A matches without a win by stunning league-leading Juventus1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.

Francesco Totti scored the only goal of the game in the 58th minute, with the Giallorossi captain finding the top left corner of Gianluigi Buffon's goal with an unstoppable 25-yard drive.

Juventus tried to rally in the remaining half hour but a blunt Bianconeri outfit was unable to force an equalizer, meaning Napoli can now cut the lead at the summit of the standings to just two points should the Partenopei defeat Sampdoria at home on Sunday.

Despite its woeful recent form, Roma began in a sprightly fashion, with Pablo Osvaldo looking particularly lively up front. The volatile forward threatened twice inside the opening 10 minutes, cutting inside Leonardo Bonucci early on only to shoot straight at Buffon, before then being forced too far wide by the Juventus skipper to get a shot away, after being slipped through by Erik Lamela.

Juventus, despite its Champions League exertion in midweek, also played their part in what was an open start to the game, with Andrea Pirlo nearly opening the scoring with a clever free kick that could very easily have found its way into the bottom right corner of Maarten Stekelenburg’s goal had the Dutchman not got down so swiftly to parry the ball to safety.

The pace of the game then dropped and the atmosphere became increasingly tetchy. Daniele De Rossi levelled Stephan Lichtsteiner with a desperately late lunge on the Swiss wingback before Totti elected to run his studs down the leg of Pirlo, leaving the playmaker with a nasty gash on his knee.

The halftime break removed some of the mounting tension from the game, allowing both sides to rediscover their attacking instincts. First, Osvaldo hooked the ball just wide after sliding to get on the end of Totti's through ball, and then, just moments later, Mirko Vucinic whizzed a volley just past Stekelenburg's right post.

The game-breaking goal arrived just before the hour mark and in sensational fashion. Miralem Pjanic tried his luck with a free kick but it was blocked by the Bianconeri wall. The ball only went as far as Totti, though, and he unleashed a blistering, first-time shot that gave Buffon absolutely no chance. 

Juventus pushed forward in search of an equalizer, but it was Roma that looked the more likely to score next, and it was only a combination of poor finishing and wonderful defending that prevented the captial club from doing so. De Rossi erred after being teed up by Osvaldo, before Lichtsteiner threw his body in the way of an effort from Marquinho.

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Roma vs Juventus Preview

Roma - Juventus Preview: Andreazzoli targets first win against in-form Bianconeri

The Giallorossi are yet to taste victory in the league in 2013 and face a tricky test against the Italian champions, who can go eight points clear at the top of Serie A

PROBABLE LINEUPS

ROMA Stekelenburg Marquinhos, Burdisso, Dodo Lamela, Bradley, De Rossi, Marquinho Pjanic, TottiOsvaldo

JUVENTUS Buffon Barzagli, Bonucci, Caceres  Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Pogba, AsamoahVucinic, Matri

Antonio Conte's side are looking to make it three wins on the bounce when they travel to the capital to take on a stumbling Roma side who are still getting used to life under interim coach Aurelio Andreazzoli. 

Having emerged unscathed from the emphatic 3-0 victory away at Celtic in the Champions League on Tuesday night, the Juventus coach has no new injury concerns, although Federico Peluso and Claudio Marchisio are suspended.

Kwadwo Asamoah could return to the starting XI after returning from international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana, while Leonardo Bonucci is also available having served his two-match domestic suspension.

Having both found the net in the Bianconeri's last two matches, Mirko Vucinic and Alessandro Matri are once again expected to lead the line, and Nicolas Anelka could make his Serie A debut from the bench. Paolo De Ceglie and Luca Marrone are also pushing for starts.

Andreazzoli made numerous changes to Zdenek Zeman's favoured starting lineup in the 3-1 defeat to Sampdoria and is faced with several injury concerns for Saturday.

Alessandro Florenzi did not take part in Thursday's training session as he is suffering from flu, and Pablo Daniel Osvaldo and Daniele De Rossi could face late fitness tests on their respective knee and thigh injuries.

The Giallorossi are already without Leonardo Castan, Federico Balzaretti and Mattia Destro for the clash against the Italian champions, so Andreazzoli will be hopeful that his star players can make a quick recovery.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Juventus thumped the Giallorossi 4-1 in the reverse fixture earlier this season, with Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Alessandro Matri and Sebastian Giovinco getting on the scoresheet.

• These two sides are Serie A’s top scorers, with 100 goals shared evenly between them. However, Romahave conceded the second-most in the division (45) whilst Conte's side have the best defensive record (16).

• Roma have lost four of their last six Serie A matches and are currently 10 points behind arch-rivals Lazio who occupy the final Champions League spot.

• Roma have only been able to secure one victory in their last 15 Serie A encounters against Juventus, back in February 2004.

• Pablo Daniel Osvaldo and Erik Lamela are tied as the Giallorossi's top league goalscorers with 11 goals. Fabio Quagliarella leads the Old Lady's charts with seven.

• Mirko Vucinic (pictured, right) moved from Roma to Juventus in 2011 for a reported fee of €15 million. The Montenegrin has scored 19 goals in 62 games since joining.

Maradona defends Messi from Argentina critics

Despite the numerous accolades won by Messi at club and personal level, the Barcelona star only boasts an Olympic gold medal with national side Argentina.

Although Messi has yet to win a major title with his country, Maradona told Fox Sports that the 25-year old's commitment to the cause should never be questioned.

"Now everyone wants to be Messi's friend. When he was not scoring goals or singing the national anthem they called him Spanish. They are all turncoats," he declared.

"When we were knocked out of the World Cup he was the one who cried the most. Tell that to the idiots who said he didn't play for the shirt. I was in a room and you could hear Messi crying, only Messi."

Messi's Barcelona team-mate Cesc Fabregas trains alongside the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or winner daily, but the former Arsenal man admitted an admiration for Real Madrid's Mesut Ozil.

"I admire him [Ozil] a lot. I can relate to him because he plays in that roaming attacking midfield role that I played in at Arsenal and I think we would play well together," Fabregas stated.

"I can relate to him, we're very similar."

Iniesta makes football look easy, gushes Roura

Chille forward Alexis finally  opened his account for the season by grabbing the opener in the sixth minute, with Lionel Messi's 35th league goal of the campaign making it 2-0 soon after.

David Villa and substitute Cristian Tello stretched the lead in the second half before Getafe substitute Alvaro Vazquez's late consolation, and there was still time for Iniesta and Gerard Pique to add their names to the scoresheet to round off an enjoyable afternoon for the Catalan club.

Roura, overseeing first-team affairs with head coach Tito Vilanova still in New York undergoing cancer treatment, was delighted to see Alexis get off the mark and purring with superlatives for Spain midfielder Iniesta.

"We're very pleased with his work and attitude," the Barca number two said of Alexis. "He's been a bit unlucky lately and I think he scored a great goal. That goal gave him a lot of confidence.

"(Iniesta) played at an extremely high level. He plays with such ease. He makes football look so easy. This is what makes him great."

The match kicked off at 1200 local time - the first time Barca have played so early in La Liga - and Roura was delighted to see 85,610 fans in attendance and thrilled with how his team responded.

"The players were at an extraordinary level," Roura said of his men, many of whom had clocked up considerable air miles on international duty for Spain's midweek friendly against Uruguay in Qatar. 

"They played with a lot of intensity from the first minute.

"It was an unusual time to play but we had a party in the stadium.

"(A full stadium) is important for the spectacle."

The win lifted Barcelona 12 points clear of Atletico Madrid and restored their 16-point advantage over third-placed champions Real Madrid.

Iniesta, who was involved in Barca's first three goals before scoring the fifth, was typically modest in his post-match analysis.

"It's good that we all contributed, but in the end the best thing is that the team won and that we played well," he said on www.fcbarcelona.com.

"There are seasons that I've played almost every match. I try to stay at the same level and I try to improve.

"It was a great morning for football. It was spectacular."

Pique too was more than content with how Barca responded to the challenge of their first early kick-off.

"We felt great on the pitch," the centre-back said. "A lot of people were able to make it to the stadium and the atmosphere was fantastic.

"It wouldn't be an inconvenience if we had to play at the same time in the future.

"We have a very complete team. A few players that don't usually enjoy a lot of minutes (on the pitch) got to play today and they proved that they are at a good level. This gives us tranquility.

"We're lucky that we get to enjoy Andres (Iniesta), and we have to take advantage of the fact that he plays for Barca."

Pinto signs Barca contract extension

The 37-year old are back-up to Victor Valdes, follows in the footsteps of team-mates Lionel Messi, Xavi and Carles Puyol who have also penned contract extensions in recent weeks.