By Goal.com News on Saturday, 06 February 2021
Category: Goal.com News

LIVE: Juventus vs Roma

59' Villar has space in the Juve box and he tries to drill a strike through a crowd of defenders. His effort strikes Bonucci and bounces back off the Roma midfielder. It travels towards Mayoral in the box, but the offside flag goes up against the forward.

57' WIDE! Ronaldo twists and turns but sees his path to goal blocked in the left inside channel. He works the ball back to Morata to strike on his left foot, but the forward sends his effort wide of the left post. Morata can breathe a sigh of relief as Ronaldo was offside in the build-up anyway.

55' McKennie sees space to release Ronaldo down the left flank, but the Portuguese is flagged offside as he is brought down on the edge of the box.

51' Juve are attempting to establis a rhythm to their play. The Bianconeri have been slightly off the pace since the restart.

49' Veretout whips a better cross in from the left flank and it strikes the leg of Rabiot before Chiellini hammers the ball clear of the Juve box.

48' Roma press back down the right flank and win a corner, but Veretout's delivery is cleared before Mkhitaryan wins a second set-piece.

48' Chiesa gets the better of Spinazzola down the right flank, but his cutback into the middle is diverted away by Mancini.

46' We're back underway at Allianz Stadium.

Roma have seen a lot of the ball, but have not tested Wojciech Szczesny. Bryan Cristante had their best attempt of the half, placing a right-footed volley wide of the left post. Paulo Fonseca will need more from his team in the second period to take a positive result from Allianz Stadium.

Cristiano Ronaldo's strike is the difference between Juventus and Roma at the break in their Serie A clash. Ronaldo was on point with a precise left-footed strike to put the Bianconeri ahead. The Portuguese also struck the bar with another attempt as the home side enjoyed the best openings in the opening period.

45' + 1' HALF-TIME: JUVENTUS 1-0 ROMA

45' + 1' Veretout curls his cross into the box, but Szczesny makes a comfortable claim in the six-yard area.

45' There will be one minute of added time.

45' Arthur loses out to Villar and looks to the referee for a foul. The midfielder sends a low cross into the Juve box that Bonucci has to clear behind.

43' Juve have been a threat on the counter throughout the contest. Ronaldo has been a thorn in the side of the Roma defence since the off.

41' SAVE! Ronaldo breaks behind Kumbulla down the right flank to latch on to Morata's ball over the top. He strikes a right-footed effort first time at goal, only to see his attempt denied by a sharp save from Lopez.

39' Ronaldo clips a dangerous cross towards the back post for Alex Sandro's run. The left-back gets behind Karsdorp, only to nod the ball out of play for a goal-kick.

36' WIDE! Mancini rises highest in the box to direct Veretout's cross towards goal, but he nods his effort just wide of the right post.

36' Chiesa tracks back to challenge Spinazzola, and inadvertently sends the ball behind for a Roma corner.

32' The visitors have seen plenty of possession, but they need a way to work Mayoral into the game. Chiellini and Bonucci have suffocated the forward for room in the final third.

30' Lopez has a worrying moment at the back as his pass out to Kumbulla struggles to reach the defender amid wet conditions. It just gets there to allow Kumbulla to clear ahead of Ronaldo.

28' Mkhitaryan runs down the left flank before cutting back on to his right foot to bend a cross into the box. Chiellini is positioned perfectly to clear the danger.

27' Mancini sticks out a boot to divert a cross from Veretout towards goal, but the defender places his effort wide of the target.

26' Roma are playing intricate football, especially from the boot of Mkhitaryan, but the visitors are lacking in a cutting edge in the final third.

24' Ronaldo has been a huge factor in the contest already. Roma have to get to grips with the forward in the final third otherwise they'll be out of the game very quickly.

22' OFF THE BAR! Ronaldo is denied by the underside of the bar. The Portuguese collects an offload from Morata and lines up a strike in the right inside channel. Kumbulla throws himself in the way of the strike and deflects the effort on its way. Ronaldo watches his attempt travel past Lopez, but hit the bar and bounce to safety.

21' CLOSE! Mayoral tries to force a strike through a crowd of Juve defenders. It strikes Rabiot and rebounds to Cristante, who launches a first-time strike on the volley towards goal. The midfielder places his effort just wide of the left post.

20' Mkhitaryan plays a neat offload for the run of Mayoral in the box, but Alex Sandro is there to track his run, only conceding a corner from the flowing move.

19' Morata tries to latch on to a ball over the top from Danilo, but he sends Ibanez tumbling to the ground in the process.

17' Bonucci comes in hard on Mayoral from behind, but the referee only awards a free-kick to the visitors in the middle of the park.

15' Ronaldo's value presents itself once again to the home side. They had barely threatened before the Portuguese produced a special finish from the edge of the box.

11' The early stages have been fairly balanced between the two sides. No one has had an attempt in anger yet.

9' Ronaldo is released behind the Roma backline by Morata and he looks for support. However, as he looks to cut back the offside flag goes up against the Portuguese. It was a late decision from the official.

8' Mkhitaryan flicks a ball over the top of the Juve defence aiming for Mayoral, but Chiellini sticks out a boot and his clearance is caught by Szczesny.

6' Ronaldo floats a cross from a free-kick into the box from the right flank, but it just evades the run of Chiellini and into the hands of Lopez.

4' Veretout surges into the left inside channel and cuts a dangerous ball across the face of goal that Alex Sandro clears ahead of Mayoral.

2' Chiesa tries to send Alex Sandro down the left flank, but Ibanez gets across to divert the ball behind for a corner.

1' We're underway at Allianz Stadium.

Roma could be unbeaten in three consecutive league meetings against Juventus for their first time since December 2002: five in that case under Fabio Capello.

Roma have made two changes to their side that beat Verona in their last outing. Kumbulla comes into the back four to replace the injured Chris Smalling, who misses out this afternoon. Lorenzo Pellegrini is also absent for the visitors due to suspension and is replaced by Cristante.

Pirlo has made seven changes to his side that beat Inter in the Coppa Italia during the week. Szczesny returns between the posts, while Danilo, Bonucci and Chiellini all come into the backline. Arthur and Chiesa slot into the midfield, while Morata partners Ronaldo in the final third.

ROMA SUBS: Edin Dzeko, Davide Santon, Javier Pastore, Carles Perez, Bruno Peres, Amadou Diawara, Riccardo Ciervo, Riccardo Calafiori, Antonio Mirante, Daniel Fuzato.

ROMA (3-5-2): Pau Lopez; Gianluca Mancini, Ibanez, Marash Kumbulla; Rick Karsdorp, Bryan Cristante, Gonzalo Villar, Jordan Veretout, Leonardo Spinazzola; Borja Mayoral, Henrikh Mkhitaryan. 

JUVENTUS SUBS: Matthijs de Ligt, Juan Cuadrado, Merih Demiral, Carlo Pinsoglio, Federico Bernardeschi, Alessandro Di Pardo, Radu Dragusin, Gianluca Frabotta, Dejan Kulusevski, Daouda Peeters, Gianluigi Buffon.

JUVENTUS (4-4-2): Wojciech Szczesny; Danilo, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Weston McKennie, Arthur, Adrien Rabiot, Federico Chiesa; Cristiano Ronaldo, Alvaro Morata. 

Roma sit one place above Juve in the table in third, having reeled off back-to-back wins in Serie A. Paulo Fonseca's men defeated Spezia in a seven-goal thriller before beating Hellas Verona by a 3-1 margin on the road. I Lupi need a victory over the reigning champions on the road to prove that they are worthy contenders for the crown this term. It's an important game for Fonseca and his team this afternoon.

Juve are finding their stride in their campaign, winning their last five matches on the bounce in all competitions. The Bianconeri are sitting eight points off Inter at the top of the table, although they do have two games in hand over their rivals. Andrea Pirlo's men have momentum on their side, having recorded a comeback victory over Inter in their Coppa Italia clash during the week. However, they need to maintain that level of form to catch the Nerazzurri in the league.

Good afternoon and welcome to the live commentary of the Serie A clash between Juventus and Roma at Allianz Stadium.

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