A brace from Alessandro Matri saw Juventus do their hopes of winning the Italian title the power of good on Saturday, seeing off fellow high-riders Udinese 2-1 in Turin.
The win preserved Juve’s unbeaten league record and opened up a provisional four-point lead over AC Milan, who were to host Cagliari yesterday, while Udinese could have Inter draw level with them if the Nerazzurri won at Lecce.
Juve moved onto 44 points from 20 games, but were eternally grateful to Matri for his predatory instincts after Antonio Floro Flores had threatened to bag a point for the visitors with a fine strike for Udinese to peg things back at 1-1.
Photo: EPA
Matri’s winner just after the hour mark owed much to an inspired substitution by Juve coach Antonio Conte, who sent on Claudio Marchisio for former Udinese favorite Fabio Quagliarella.
Marchisio promptly diverted an Arturo Vidal cross right into Matri’s path and the striker lashed the ball past visiting goalkeeper Samir Handanovic to clinch a crucial win.
Matri had notched his opener from point-blank range after Handanovic had palmed out a near-post header from Quagliarella straight to the lurking forward three minutes before the interval.
However, substitute Floro Flores pilfered the equalizer 10 minutes after the restart, curling a neat right-footed effort beyond Gianluigi Buffon for his second goal of the season.
Buoyed by that, Udinese fought in snowy conditions to take the game to their hosts, whom they held to a goalless draw earlier in the season.
Colombian Pablo Armero fired in an early volley that Buffon did well to push away diving low to his right and 14-goal hot-shot Antonio Di Natale also went close from close range.
Handanovic just managed to take the ball off the toes of the effervescent Matri midway through the opening half, while industrious Swiss Stephane Liechsteiner found himself in space on the half-hour, but dithered and, crowded out, saw the chance fade away before he could pick his spot.
Udinese coach Francesco Guidolin said his men “gave it everything they had. We had our chances, but we sat back a bit too much late in the first-half and conceded the opener.”
Earlier on Saturday, Catania and Parma shared a 1-1 draw that left both clubs in mid-table.
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put
RSS