Juventus 2-1 Venezia: 3 takeaways as birthday boy Bonucci fires Bianconeri to victory

AS Roma’s draw with Bologna on Sunday evening meant that Juventus secured qualification into next season’s Champions League after they beat Venezia 2-1 on Matchday 35.

The spirited Venetians made life difficult for the Bianconeri, however, and some might argue that the home side were second best for large swathes of the contest after their initial momentum gradually dissipated.

3 takeaways from Juventus’ 2-1 victory over Venezia

In the end, an unlikely hero manifested on his birthday to help Juventus to victory against relegation-threatened opposition and here are three takeaways from the win.

35 years young

Juventus won thanks to a pair of high-quality chances fashioned from set-pieces. The Bianconeri have underachieved from these situations this season, but they were efficient on Sunday with Fabio Miretti’s delivery superb.

Matthijs de Ligt nodded down Miretti’s free-kick from the right to birthday boy Leonardo Bonucci who made no mistake with his header from close range to open the scoring early on. Then, the newly-turned 35-year-old was in the right place at the right time to re-establish Juve’s lead in the contest after Mattia Aramu had equalised from distance with 20 minutes remaining.

Bonucci bundled home his second after Danilo won the initial header from Miretti’s outswinging corner.

Venezia have ridden their luck from set-pieces this term, but they were made to pay by Juventus in the second phase. Heading into Sunday’s contest, Venezia had conceded just three times from set-pieces despite surrendering a league-high xGA (expected goals against) from such situations.

Nevertheless, the visitors’ porous set-piece defending was the ideal birthday present for Bonucci, who bagged his second brace of the season and proved to be the unlikely match-winner.

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