It was 90 minutes of efficient Bianconeri football on Saturday evening as Juventus eased to a 3-1 victory over Sampdoria in Serie A.
The triumph, which extended Juve’s unbeaten run in the league to 15 games, increased fears among those outside of Turin that Massimiliano Allegri’s tricky Old Lady are primed for a late Scudetto charge. However, AC Milan’s slender victory over Empoli on Saturday night means the gap between Juve and the leaders is still seven points.
Nevertheless, Allegri’s side piled the pressure on Atalanta, who fell further behind in the top-four race after drawing with Genoa. Juve’s advantage over La Dea, who have a game in hand, is now eight points.
3 takeaways from Juventus’ 3-1 victory over Sampdoria
Here are three takeaways from Juventus’ 3-1 win over Sampdoria on Matchday 29.
Szczesny’s heroics
We can all thank Jordan Veretout for kicking Wojciech Szcznesy’s 2021/22 season into gear. The Polish international’s season had started woefully but a tepid spot-kick from the Roma midfielder, that was duly saved by Juve’s number one, sparked a major renaissance between the Bianconeri sticks.
Szczesny has been a key part of Juve’s imperious defensive record since the start of November, and he produced once more against Sampdoria.
The visitors were cruising at 2-0 before a flailing Adrien Rabiot arm handed Samp a lifeline. The Frenchman was penalised for a handball in his box, and Antonio Candreva stepped up from 12 yards hoping to halve his side’s deficit with 20 minutes remaining.
3 - Wojciech Szczesny è il primo portiere a parare tre rigori consecutivi affrontati in Serie A da Emiliano Viviano (quattro di fila nel 2017/18). Sicurezza.#SampdoriaJuventus
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) March 12, 2022
But instead of offering the home side a glimmer of hope, Szcznesy became the first goalkeeper in Serie A since Emiliano Viviano in 2017/18 to save three penalties in a row.
Post-match, he said modestly: “I got lucky with the penalty save, I was expecting it central but then the ball moved and then I had to choose a corner. It’s nice to save a penalty because we study them and when it goes well it’s a great satisfaction.”
Despite his denial of Candreva from 12 yards, Szczesny would be breached in unfortunate circumstances to rob him of back-to-back clean sheets. Juve’s number one had perhaps slipped off the boil ahead of last weekend’s clash against Spezia, but two big saves to help Juve to victory in that one followed by his penalty heroics on Saturday highlight that Szczesny is once again back to his best.