Thursday, 26 October 2017

Juventus 4 SPAL 1: Bernardeschi, Dybala brilliance inspires champions to victory

Juventus kept the pressure on Serie A leaders Napoli with a 4-1 win over struggling SPAL at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday.

Spectacular first-half goals from Federico Bernardeschi and Paulo Dybala set the champions on course for back-to-back league wins, before Gonzalo Higuain and Juan Cuadrado struck after the break.

Bernardeschi's stunning volley put Juve ahead early on and another fine free-kick from Dybala doubled the lead after only 22 minutes, as Massimiliano Allegri's side threatened a repeat of the goalscoring form they showed in the 6-2 thrashing of Udinese last time out.

SPAL recovered from their early jitters to make life more difficult but their heads dropped again when Higuain and Cuadrado scored in quick succession not long after the disallowed goal, and only a belated offside call denied the Argentina striker what would have been his 100th Serie A goal late on.

There was even a chance for Claudio Marchisio to make his first appearance since the opening-day win over Cagliari, the midfielder having recovered at last from a knee injury, as Juve cruised to the win that keeps them three points behind Napoli.

Juventus on best Serie A scoring pace in 65 years

Despite sitting just third in Serie A, Juventus are scoring at a rate not seen in the Italian top flight since the 1950s.

Juve's 4-1 win over SPAL on Wednesday saw the club hit their 31st goal of the season in just their 10th league game of the campaign.

The last time a Serie A side hit that many goals in their first 10 matches was when Juventus scored 32 during the 1951-52 season.

Paulo Dybala's ability to striker from distance has played a big part in the team's success to this point.

The 23-year-old leads all Serie A players with four goals from outside the box this season.

Juventus on best Serie A scoring pace in 65 years

Despite sitting just third in Serie A, Juventus are scoring at a rate not seen in the Italian top flight since the 1950s.

Juve's 4-1 win over SPAL on Wednesday saw the club hit their 31st goal of the season in just their 10th league game of the campaign.

The last time a Serie A side hit that many goals in their first 10 matches was when Juventus scored 32 during the 1951-52 season.

Paulo Dybala's ability to striker from distance has played a big part in the team's success to this point.

The 23-year-old leads all Serie A players with four goals from outside the box this season.

Tottenham 2 West Ham 3: Stunning comeback sees Hammers reach last eight

West Ham produced the most unlikely of second-half comebacks to beat Tottenham 3-2 at Wembley and book their place in the EFL Cup quarter-finals.

A dominant Spurs, without the rested Harry Kane, raced in to a two-goal half-time lead thanks to strikes from Moussa Sissoko and Dele Alli to seemingly leave Slaven Bilic's position hanging by a thread.

Bilic's players, though, produced a stirring second-half fightback, scoring three times in a stunning 15-minute spell to complete a remarkable turnaround.

Two quick-fire goals from Andre Ayew pulled the Hammers level before Angelo Ogbonna crashed a header in to seal a memorable win that provides their under-fire manager with a timely boost.

Bilic will now go into the Saturday's pivotal away clash with Crystal Palace full of confidence, while Tottenham will need to pick themselves up for a mouth-watering clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford, with one of their routes to silverware now gone.

*Spurs star Kane in doubt for Man United clash – Pochettino*

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino revealed star Harry Kane is no certainty to face Manchester United on Saturday after missing the Carabao Cup midweek.

Kane, 24, sat out Tottenham's shock 3-2 loss to West Ham on Wednesday, having spearheaded Spurs against Real Madrid and Liverpool.

The Premier League's leading scorer - in pursuit of a third consecutive Golden Boot - was seemingly rested, though it appears there could have been more to Kane's absence at Wembley ahead of Tottenham's blockbuster trip to Old Trafford.

"We'll see, we'll see," Pochettino told beIN Sports when asked if Kane would face United after Spurs surrendered a 2-0 half-time lead against West Ham.

"We need to assess the team because we were forced to rotate for different reasons and we'll see what happens in the next few days."

Tottenham and United are level on 20 points after nine matches, five adrift of leaders Manchester City, though Jose Mourinho's men are second on goal difference.

*RB Leipzig 1 Bayern Munich 1 (aet, 4-5 pens): Ulreich denies Werner on night of spot-kick drama

There was penalty drama aplenty at the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday as Bayern Munich reached the last 16 of the DFB-Pokal thanks to a 5-4 shoot-out win over 10-man RB Leipzig.

After nine successful kicks, Timo Werner - who started on the bench - saw his weak penalty to the right saved low down by Sven Ulreich, who had come in for some criticism since replacing the injured Manuel Neuer as Bayern's number one.

The shoot-out followed a highly controversial 1-1 draw, which saw referee Felix Zwayer change his mind in awarding Leipzig a first-half penalty before giving the home side a soft spot-kick in the second period, either side of Naby Keita's dismissal for two cautions.

Emil Forsberg converted from 12 yards but Bayern were soon level through Thiago Alcantara and after the extra 30 minutes produced no further goals, the visitors kept their cool to join holders Borussia Dortmund in the draw.