Adrien Rabiot opened the scoring for Juventus before Cristian Ronaldo scored his 100th goal for the club and Paulo Dybala sealed the match with the third.
Juventus beat Sassuolo 3-1 at Stadio Citta Del Tricolore on Thursday to remain in fifth spot in Serie A. Adrien Rabiot opened the scoring for Juventus after Gianluigi Buffon denied Sassuolo from the penalty spot. Cristiano Ronaldo doubled the lead just before the interval with his 100th goal for Juventus. Giacomo Raspadori pulled one back for Sassuolo in the second half. But, Paulo Dybala’s flick sealed the crucial three points for Juventus. AC Milan, Napoli and Atalanta won their previous matches to remain in the top four.
Adrien Rabiot opened the scoring in the 28th minute. The French footballer’s left-footed low drive from outside the penalty area made the score 1-0 for Juventus. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the second Juventus goal in the 45th minute.
Adrien Rabiot was again involved with his header from the midfield that released Ronaldo down the right side. The Portuguese striker cut inside with his right foot to beat defender Marlon Santos for the second goal
Sassuolo played some good football on the night and pulled one back just before the hour mark through Raspadori. Raspadori and Locatelli combined on the edge of the penalty area. Raspadori netted in with his left foot from inside the penalty box.
Paulo Dybala also scored his 100th goal for the club to make the score 3-1 for Juventus on the night. Rabiot released Kulusevski down the middle and the Swedish international’s pass picked up Dybala and the number 10 lofted the ball over the Sassuolo goalkeeper Consigli.
Sassuolo started the game on the front foot. Gianluigi Buffon, who came in for Wojciech Szczesny had to be at his best to deny the Sassuolo attackers. Sassuolo got a penalty after Raspadori was brought down inside the penalty box. But, Buffon saved the day.
Cristiano Ronaldo was denied a second of the night by the woodwork. Ronaldo collected the ball on the left side, cut inside after beating the defender with step-overs and curled the ball to the far post with his right-foot, only to hit the post and go away.
The win helped Juventus into 72 points from 36 games, one point behind fourth placed Napoli and two points adrift AC Milan and Atalanta. Andrea Pirlo’s side will next play champions Inter Milan and Bologna in their remaining Serie A fixtures. They will need to win those two matches and hope either of Milan, Napoli or Atalanta falter, to secure a Champions League qualification.
In the other match of the day Atalanta beat Benevento 2-0 at home and AC Milan destroyed Torino 7-0 away from home. Sixth placed Lazio beat Parma 1-0 to keep themselves in the race for a European spot with three games remaining. Lazio have 67 points from 35 games.