Serbian striker bags hat-trick to give Italian powerhouse 4-2 win over Cagliari
Serbian striker bags hat-trick to give Italian powerhouse 4-2 win over Cagliariu00a0
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| Juventus midfielder Milos Krasic celebrates after scoring his third goal against Cagliari during their Serie A match at Comunale Stadium in Turin last night. Pic/AFP |
Alessandro Matri scored twice for the visitors, making the Juve defence look worryingly disorganised each time.
It was clear from the outset that Juve were desperate to bounce back from their defeat to Palermo in midweek.
Vincenzo Iaquinta and Amauri, who were leading the Bianconeri attack with Alessandro Del Piero dropped to the bench, both combined with the latter unable to find the target with a header from close range in the fifth minute.
Juve took a deserved lead in the 13th minute when Pepe's free-kick was cleared to the edge of the area, where Krasic volleyed the ball with precision into the bottom corner.
Cagliari levelled seven minutes later with Matri taking advantage of a glaring error from the Juve defence.
Not one man in black and white was near him as he stretched a leg out to divert Andrea Lazzari's cross in from five yards.
Juve regained their earlier momentum and moved back ahead 10 minutes before the break when Krasic beat Alessandro Agostini to the ball at the far post and, with an outstretched leg, nudged Pepe's cross over the line.
Juve's third goal arrived in the 57th minute when a goalmouth scramble following Pepe's corner culminated in the ball bouncing off Bonucci's knee and crossing the line before Iaquinta's touch made sure. Krasic completed his hat-trick in the 70th minute with a bit of luck as his shot deflected off the knee of Davide Astori, wrong-footing Agazzi in the Cagliari goal.
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