Juventus v Lecce Live Commentary & Result, 5/3/23, Serie A

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	PTS	Form
1	NAP Napoli	37	27	6	4	75	28	+47	87	D W L W D
2	LAZ Lazio	37	21	8	8	58	30	+28	71	W W D L W
3	INT Internazionale	37	22	3	12	70	42	+28	69	W L W W W
4	MIL Milan	37	19	10	8	61	42	+19	67	W W L W D
5	ATA Atalanta	37	18	7	12	61	46	+15	61	L W L L W
6	ROM Roma	37	17	9	11	48	37	+11	60	L D D L D
7	JUV Juventus	37	21	6	10	55	33	+22	59	L L W W W
8	TOR Torino	37	14	11	12	42	40	+2	53	W D W D W
9	FIO Fiorentina	37	14	11	12	50	42	+8	53	W D W L D
10	MON Monza	37	14	10	13	46	47	-1	52	L W W D D
11	BOL Bologna	37	13	12	12	50	47	+3	51	D W D D L
12	UDI Udinese	37	11	13	13	47	47	0	46	L L L W D
13	SAS Sassuolo	37	12	9	16	46	58	-12	45	D L L D L
14	EMP Empoli	37	10	13	14	37	47	-10	43	D W D W W
15	SAL Salernitana	37	9	15	13	48	60	-12	42	W D W L D
16	LEC Lecce	37	8	12	17	31	43	-12	36	W D D L L
17	SPE Spezia	37	6	13	18	30	60	-30	31	L D W L L
18	VER Hellas Verona	37	7	10	20	30	56	-26	31	D L L W L
19	CRE Cremonese	37	4	12	21	34	69	-35	24	L L L W D
20	SAM Sampdoria	37	3	10	24	24	69	-45	19	D L D L L

Thanks for joining our commentary. Until next time, goodbye.

Juventus are next in action against Atalanta on the road on Sunday. Lecce take on Verona at home in a crunch match at the bottom on the same day.

Juventus strengthen their claim for a top-four place in Serie A by ending their four-match winless run with a 2-1 triumph over Lecce at Allianz Stadium. Leandro Paredes put the home side in front with a brilliant free-kick, but Assan Ceesay answered from the penalty spot for Lecce after Danilo handled in the box. However, Dusan Vlahovic scored for the first time in Serie A since February with a clinical strike to restore Juve's advantage. Although Lecce put Massimiliano Allegri's men under pressure at the back, the Bianconeri held out to secure the three points.

90' + 6' FULL-TIME: JUVENTUS 2-1 LECCE

90' + 6' Oudin's corner is headed clear by Pogba at the near post and the referee ends the game.

90' + 5' Banda whips a cross into the box that is glanced behind by Gatti. Lecce have one final chance for an equaliser from the resulting corner.

90' + 5' Pogba dances his way into the Lecce box and goes down, but the referee is not interested in his appeal for a penalty.

90' + 3' Locatelli has to make a vital intervention at the back to halt Oudin in the final third. Lecce continue to probe.

90' + 1' Vlahovic has the chance to end the game, but he takes a terrible touch from Pogba's throughball and allows Falcone to push it away from him in the box.

90' There will be five minutes of added time.

L. Colombo

A. Ceesay

89' Ceesay scored from the penalty spot, but he should have equalised for the visitors. He makes way for Colombo.

J. Voelkerling Persson

M. Hjulmand

89' Hjulmand is withdrawn from the middle of the park for Voelkerling Persson.

F. Gatti

Bremer

87' Gatti comes on for Bremer at the back for the hosts.

M. Locatelli

L. Paredes

87' Paredes makes way for the home side and is replaced by Locatelli.

85' Chiesa has space on the break and options to his left and right. The forward goes alone, but loses out to Umtiti to end the counter.

83' SAVE! Kostic has space in the final third and drills a low strike towards the target from 30 yards. It bounces awkwardly in front of Falcone, but the Lecce keeper still manages to turn it away from goal.

81' OVER! Paredes lines up the effort and looks to score his second free-kick of the game, but on this occasion he launches his strike over the top.

80' Pogba breaks on the counter and gets the better of Romagnoli to win a free-kick right on the edge of the Lecce box. Juve have a great chance to effectively end the game here.

79' CEESAY MISSES A SITTER! Oudin sends a dangerous cross that is flicked on by Ceccaroni. Ceesay reacts and has a free header at goal, but he sends his effort straight at Szczesny, who palms it away. What a blown opportunity.

78' Cuadrado finds space down the right flank and looks for a pass. He finds an offload to Paredes, who shoots first-time, but can only drag his effort wide of the target.

77' Oudin whips the resulting free-kick towards goal and it appears to be a genuine effort at goal. Szczesny watches it all the way into his hands to make a comfortable stop. That was a waste from the visitors.

Bremer

Yellow Card

76' Bremer has to bring down Banda on the charge and goes into the book. Banda has Juve all over the place the back.

74' Bonucci makes a vital challenge to Ceesay from latching on to Oudin's throughball. The Lecce striker would only have to beat Szczesny had the Juve defender not timed his challenge to perfection.

F. Chiesa

Á. Di María

73' Chiesa is called onto the field to replace Di Maria. Juve need a moment of magic from their key man here.

P. Pogba

F. Miretti

73' Pogba gets a rare appearance on the field this season to replace Miretti.

P. Ceccaroni

G. Pezzella

71' Ceccaroni enters the action to replace Pezzella, who was on a booking.

70' Banda whips another cross into the box that Kostic has to clear away from Baschirotto at the back post. Juve cannot stop the supply of crosses at the moment.

68' Lecce are looking the more dangerous side in the final third at the moment, particularly through Banda down the left flank. Juve need to figure out a way to stop the forward.

65' Oudin whips a cross to the near post that troubles the Juventus defence, forcing Bonucci to send the ball behind for another corner.

64' Banda surges down the left flank and skips past two challenges with ease. He drills a low ball across the face of goal, but there's no white shirt there to tap home the delivery.

62' OFF THE POST! Danilo comes inches away to scoring a third goal for Juventus. He reaches Paredes' cross ahead of his man, but sends his effort off the right post and the Lecce defence scramble the ball away to safety.

G. Pezzella

Yellow Card

61' Pezzella lunges in on Fagioli and goes into the book.

F. Di Francesco

Joan Gonzàlez

60' Gonzalez is withdrawn by the visitors and is replaced by Di Francesco.

A. Blin

Y. Maleh

60' Blin enters the action in the middle of the park to replace Maleh.

59' Lecce continue to ask questions of the Juventus defence in the final third. They're knocking on the door and the home side are far from convincing at the back.

57' CHANCE! Ceesay rises in the box to head a dangerous cross from Oudin towards goal, but he sends his free header wide of the left post.

L. Paredes

Yellow Card

55' Paredes slides in hard on Baschirotto and goes into the book. He will miss Juve's next match due to suspension.

52' SAVE! Baschirotto bursts forward and lines up a drive from distance that travels towards goal at pace and forces Szczesny into a solid stop. Lecce recycle possession and Pezzella goes for a strike from the edge of the box that is hacked clear.

50' Kostic makes a break forward down the left flank and looks to send an early cross into the box, but his delivery sails harmlessly behind for a goal-kick.

49' MIRETTI STILL CAN'T SCORE! The midfielder latches onto a header from Bremer six yards and only has to steer his effort on target, but he turns his left-footed strike past the post.

S. Umtiti

Yellow Card

48' Umtiti goes into the book for bringing down Miretti on the charge. The defender is not happy as he believes there was no contact.

46' We're back under way at Allianz Stadium.

Juventus have the lead at the break, but they've not been in control of the contest as Leece have had numerous chances. Massimiliano Allegri will want his side to get an early goal in the second half to kill off the contest as the Bianconeri don't look capable of seeing this one out with the current scoreline.

Juventus hold a 2-1 lead over Lecce at the break in their Serie A clash at Allianz Stadium. The home side took the lead courtesy of a brilliant strike from Leandro Paredes from a free-kick from 25 yards, notching his first goal of the season. Fabio Miretti had a goal narrowly disallowed for offside to deny Juve a two-goal lead. Lecce were presented with a chance to get back into the contest when Danilo handled in the penalty area, and Assan Ceesay duly equalised from the spot. However, Dusan Vlahovic scored his first Serie A goal since February with a fine left-footed effort to put his side in front before the interval.

45' + 4' HALF-TIME: JUVENTUS 2-1 LECCE

45' + 4' Fagioli is fortunate as he loses possession to Umtiti, but the loose ball does not quite fall for Banda in the final third.

45' + 3' CHANCE! Ceesay has another chance at the back post as he connects with Oudin's corner, only to plant his attempt over the bar.

45' + 2' Banda makes a good run behind the Juve defence and the forward wins a corner off the legs of Danilo.

45' + 1' OVER! Miretti attempts an ambitious first-time strike from Fagioli's ball over the top, only to lift his effort well over the bar.

45' There will be four minutes of added time.

45' CHANCE! Danilo rises in the box to head a corner from Paredes towards goal, but he sends his effort narrowly wide of the post. The Brazilian almost atones for his mistake.

43' Ceesay almost latches onto a long ball over the top from Umtiti, but the flag goes up for offside against the forward before he can pounce.

41' Vlahovic has scored his first Serie A goal since February 7th against Salernitana.

D. Vlahović

Goal

40' GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!! WHAT A HIT FROM VLAHOVIC!!!!! 2-1!!!!!! Juve regain the lead through Vlahovic, who ends his drought in front of goal. Kostic fires the ball low into the box and it travels all the way through to Vlahovic in the inside-right channel. He takes on the strike first-time on his left foot, burying his effort into the bottom-left corner. A super strike.

39' BLOCK! Kostic and Di Maria combine in the final third, but Umtiti produces a brilliant challenge to deny the latter. Miretti lines up a strike on the rebound, only to see his effort deflected wide of the post.

A. Ceesay

Penalty Goal

37' GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!! CEESAY EQUALISES FROM THE SPOT!!!!! 1-1!!!! Leece are back in the game as Ceesay holds his nerve from 12 yards. He takes a long run-up, but fires his left-footed strike low and hard away from Szczesny into the bottom-right corner.

36' PENALTY TO LECCE! Danilo handles the ball in the box after losing an aerial battle with Oudin and the referee points to the spot.

35' Baschirotto launches a cross to the back post where Banda looks for Ceesay, but his header is cleared away by Bremer.

34' Baschirotto races back for the visitors to clear a dangerous cross from Di Maria away from Vlahovic after a fine run from the Argentine on the counter.

J. Cuadrado

M. De Sciglio

32' De Sciglio is stretchered off the field and is replaced by Cuadrado at right-back.

31' De Sciglio goes down after an awkward collision with Banda. He requires treatment on the field and his team-mates are ushering the medical staff on the pitch.

29' On the bright side for Miretti, he has been a constant threat in the opening 29 minutes and if he continues in this manner, he'll surely get on the scoresheet.

27' NO GOAL!!! Miretti still can't get on the scoresheet as he moves too soon from Fagioli's brilliant ball over the top and is caught offside. He produced a fine finish striking his volley into the ground and over Falcone, but it counts for nothing.

25' Miretti has the ball in the back of the net, but his strike will be checked by VAR...

25' CLOSE! Oudin bursts down the right flank and directs a dangerous cross to the back post where Ceesay just cannot stretch to turn the ball home.

24' Danilo slides to cut out a cross from Banda from the left flank, but he almost allows Ceesay to pounce in the six-yard box before Szczesny scrambles to pounce on the loose ball.

21' Miretti latches onto Di Maria's deflected pass and shoots low and hard at goal, but again fails to find the back of the net as Falcone makes the stop. However, the offside flag goes up late anyway.

19' The home side are into their rhythm now and the Leece defence are having to battle to keep the Biaconeri at bay.

17' MIRETTI SHOULD MAKE IT TWO! The midfielder latches onto a cutback from De Sciglio from the right flank and only has Falcone to beat, but he scuffs his strike and it deflects wide of the left post.

17' Oudin lines up a hopeful strike from distance that soars towards the target, but Szczesny watches it travel comfortably over the top.

16' Juventus have avoided defeat in their last 20 matches when scoring the opening goal in Serie A dating back to 6th May 2022 against Genoa (L1-2).

L. Paredes

Goal

15' GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!! PAREDES HAMMERS HOME THE FREE-KICK!!!! 1-0 JUVENTUS!! Paredes rifles his strike from 25 yards towards goal and it rockets past Falcone into the bottom-left corner. The midfielder finds a gap in the Lecce wall and punishes the visitors to hand his side the early advantage.

14' Maleh drags Fagioli to the ground in the final third and gives away a free-kick in a useful position for the home side.

12' Banda finds space down the left flank for the visitors, but Juve are able to get men back behind the ball to halt the Lecce counter.

11' Lecce are setting up the play on the counter, which is causing the home side problems with their defensive shape.

9' Miretti fends off a challenge and releases Kostic down the left flank, but his cutback is cleared with ease by the Leece defence.

8' Kostic latches onto a ball over the top from Bonucci and he steers a left-footed strike towards goal that has Falcone worried for a second before it travels comfortably away from the net.

6' Fagioli looks to find the run of Di Maria in the Lecce box, but the Argentine loses his footing under pressure and allows the visitors to clear the danger.

4' There is a VAR check on the goal, but it agrees with the decision on the field and the game remains goalless, although Juve will have got a scare at the back.

3' DISALLOWED GOAL! Oudin fires the ball across the face of goal where Ceesay sticks out a boot to turn the ball home, but the flag goes up for offside against the Lecce forward.

1' We're under way at Allianz Stadium.

Juventus have won their last two matches against Lecce in Serie A, as many wins as in their previous six matches against the Salentini (drawn three, lost one).

Lecce have made six changes to their side that beat Udinese in their last outing. Romagnoli and Pezzella come into the back four to replace Gendrey and Antonino Gallo. Gonzalez slots into the midfield in place of Blin. Maleh, Banda and Cessay get the nod in the final third as Strefezza misses out due to suspension, while Colombo and Di Francesco drop to the bench.

Juventus have made six changes to their side that drew against Bologna last time out. Bonucci, Bremer, De Sciglio, Paredes, Vlahovic and Di Maria all come into the side as Cuadrado, Sandro, Gatti, Chiesa, Locatelli and Milik drop to the bench.

LECCE SUBS: Marco Bleve, Lorenzo Colombo, Federico Di Francesco, Alessandro Tuia, Thorir Johann Helgason, Valentin Gendrey, Pietro Ceccaroni, Federico Brancolini, Alexis Blin, Joel Voelkerling Persson, Tommaso Cassandro.

LECCE (4-3-3): Wladimiro Falcone; Simone Romagnoli, Federico Baschirotto, Samuel Umtiti, Giuseppe Pezzella; Joan Gonzalez, Morten Hjulmand, Remi Oudin; Youssef Maleh, Lameck Banda, Assan Ceesay.

JUVENTUS SUBS: Manuel Locatelli, Federico Chiesa, Paul Pogba, Juan Cuadrado, Alex Sandro, Arkadiusz Milik, Federico Gatti, Moise Kean, Carlo Pinsoglio, Daniele Rugani, Matìas Soule, Mattia Perin, Samuel Iling.

JUVENTUS (3-5-2): Wojciech Szczesny; Danilo, Leonardo Bonucci, Bremer; Mattia De Sciglio, Nicolo Fagioli, Leandro Paredes, Fabio Miretti, Filip Kostic; Dusan Vlahovic, Angel Di Maria.

Lecce are in the battle at the other end of Serie A and picked the perfect time to end their nine-game winless run last time out. Marco Baroni's men secured a vital 1-0 win over Udinese in their last outing to move four points clear of the relegation zone. Gabriel Strefezza's penalty was enough to secure the win to give his team respite for now, but Lecce need to string further results together to secure their Serie A status for another season.

After receiving a huge boost to have 15 points returned to their tally, Juve have not responded well in their bid to solidify their Champions League place for next season. The Bianconeri have failed to win any of their last four matches in Serie A, suffering three defeats in the process. Massimiliano Allegri's men dug out a point on the road last time out against Bologna, but the Italian will be desperate to see an improvement from his side to shore up their place in the top four heading into the climax of the campaign.

Hello and welcome to the live commentary of the Serie A clash between Juventus and Lecce at Allianz Stadium.

Juventus v Lecce Live Commentary, 5/3/23

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