Serie A - Roma 1-2 Juventus - Match Report
Ronaldo penalty makes the difference as Juventus go top in Serie A following a 2-1 win away victory at Roma
Two goals inside the opening 10 minutes helped Juventus leapfrog Inter at the top of Serie A with a 2-1 victory at Roma. Defender Merih Demiral scored his first goal for the Bianconeri by turning home the influential Paulo Dybala's deep free-kick.
The Argentina international then won a penalty having dispossessed Jordan Veretout, with Cristiano Ronaldo converting to take his tally to nine goals in his past six Serie A games.
A second-half spot-kick from Diego Perotti proved to be a mere consolation for Roma, who also lost Italy international Nicolo Zaniolo to a serious-looking leg injury, as Juve capitalised on Inter's Saturday draw against Atalanta.
The Bianconeri had not scored on their previous two trips to face Roma at the Stadio Olimpico, but they were ahead after three minutes through an unlikely source.
Dybala swung a free-kick in from the left and Chris Smalling was unable to clear, with Demiral sticking out his right leg to see the ball go in via his shin.
It went from bad to worse for Roma, who only had themselves to blame for Juventus' second as Dybala robbed Veretout on the edge of the box and won a penalty from the same man that Ronaldo dispatched.
The hosts thought they should have had a spot-kick themselves when Lorenzo Pellegrini's goal-bound effort appeared to hit Adrien Rabiot on the arm, which was tucked into his body.
An injured Demiral was replaced shortly after by Matthijs de Ligt, who cynically impeded Zaniolo's progress after a brilliant run to also end the Roma midfielder's evening prematurely.
A VAR review helped Roma find a route back into the match with 22 minutes remaining, though.
Edin Dzeko was unfortunate not to score when his effort struck the post, and the former Manchester City striker kept the attack alive by crossing for substitute Cengiz Under, whose header was blocked on the line by Alex Sandro before hitting the left-back's left arm.
Referee Marco Guida initially saw nothing wrong with the intervention but pointed to the spot after checking a pitchside monitor, with Perotti making no mistake from 12 yards.
Roma was unable to conjure up a leveller, though, and only a narrow offside decision prevented substitute Gonzalo Higuain from adding a third for the visitors.
Goals/Highlights
Goal! Roma pull one back! VAR intervenes as Alex Sandro handles the ball in the box. Diego Perotti makes no mistake from twelve yards out! Game on!
Goal! Juve win a penalty! Jordan Veretout lunges in on Paulo Dybala, no surprises Cristiano Ronaldo scores from the spot-kick!
Goal! Juventus take the lead! Merih Demiral volleys home an early goal! That's the Turkish defender's first goal for the side!
Live Updates
Preamble
Just over 15 minutes to go before kick-off in Rome! This screamer from Zidane can get you in the mood for the action tonight!
Roma are about to warm up! Fans of Manchester United, might have spotted Chris Smalling, clearly living his best life in Rome.
Likewise, Juventus don't make any changes from the side that beat Cagliari 4-0, which is nice and simple!
Team news! Roma make no changes from the side that lost 2-0 to Torino...
Want an idea of the predicted teams for tonight? Have a bang on this to get you in the mood before kick-off!
Further excitement from the Roma Twitter account... What a hit from Totti!
Roma seems up for this, judging on their social media output...
Good news guys! Juventus have arrived, Ronaldo and his erm, odd choice of hairstyle leading the way.
Good evening! Fancy a slice of late-night Italian football to round off your Sunday evening? Good news! We have a rip-roaring Live blog of Roma Vs Juventus to get your teeth into! After Inter dropped points to Atalanta, Juventus can head to the top of the standings with a victory against Roma. The Gialorossi will have other ideas, as they look to close down bitter rivals Lazio who are currently in third place. Join me for all the build-up, team news chat and all the GOALS from the big game in Rome.
