Juventus climbed to the top of the Serie A table with a win over Roma, their fourth in a row

Juventus climbed to the top of the Serie A table with a win over Roma, their fourth in a row

Juventus climbed to the top of the Serie A table with a 1-0 triumph against AS Roma in Turin on Sunday, with Moise Kean’s unorthodox early goal sealing the Turin club’s fourth consecutive league win. After 16 minutes, Rodrigo Bentancur’s header ricocheted off Kean’s head and into the back of the net, deciding the game.

But Tammy Abraham put the ball in the net for Jose Mourinho’s side, but the goal was not allowed to stand because referee Daniele Orsato had previously whistled for a penalty. Jordan Veretout took the subsequent penalty kick, but Wojciech Szczesny saved it.

Juve is now tied for seventh place with Lazio on 14 points, with Atalanta one point ahead of them and Roma one point behind. Juventus secured its third 1-0 win in as many games in all competitions, holding the fort following Moise Kean’s 16th-minute goal and weathering a controversy-filled first half to hold off Roma. It was another classic Allegri game, in which he guides his sides through the ups and downs of a major encounter with a slim lead and emerges victorious. He did it to Chelsea’s detriment. He did it against Torino in the Derby Della Mole. Now he’s done it against Roma, as Juve has won four straight Serie A games and has a chance to get into the top six in next weekend’s Derby d’Italia.

And, just for fun, Allegri’s pre-match remarks about how Juventus-Roma is usually exciting but always appears to be marred by controversy… well, those were dead on.

There’s little arguing that the penalty kick decision late in the first half was one of the game’s most pivotal moments. Do you take advantage of the situation? Do you just dismiss the fact that Henrikh Mkhitaryan handled the ball as he fell to the ground after (kinda-sorta) leaping over Wojciech Szczesny? Do you believe that was all a bunch of nonsense and you just want to be glad that Szczesny saved the penalty and broke Jordan Veretout’s spotless record from the spot?

Please choose the last option.

I’ll also be relieved to be able to witness Moise Kean dance after a goal once more. (Even if that goal was a very solid indicator that this game was going to be silly, confused, and delightful all at once.)

FT: Juventus 1-0 Roma

Juventus’ last six games: WWWWWW pic.twitter.com/SIfNPsRFk2

— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 17, 2021

But, in the end, Allegri and Juventus did essentially the same thing they’ve done in the previous two games: they got the shutout, they got the win, and they moved up a few spaces in the Serie A table. It’s easy to understand why Juve has been so successful in recent weeks, and this is exactly how Allegri is expected to get this squad back on track.

He’s also done it with a winger playing forward, a right-winger playing on the left flank, and a slew of other injuries and lack of choices.

This game, Juve’s third in a row, just goes to demonstrate that Allegri only needed a little more time to get things right, and the results would come eventually. It’s not always pretty, and it’s not always going to have us writing 1,500 words about how fantastic Juve just played, but it’s turning into a pretty successful recipe for stabilizing a squad that was winless only a month ago.

They’re now all one point behind Roma, who had the best start to the 2021-22 season of anyone in the league.

Another 1-0 victory is satisfying. It’s nice to have another clean sheet. It’s a wonderful feeling to see Juventus play a competent but unspectacular game. Allegri is creating this work, and the results are beginning to emerge. That is how it is carried out.