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Juventus crush Roma to move five points clear
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-11-20 09:59
MILAN, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Juventus crushed AS Roma 4-1 at the Olympic stadium
on Saturday with two goals from Frenchman David Trezeguet sending them five
points clear at the top of Serie A.
Champions Juve, whose rivals Milan are away to third-placed Fiorentina on
Sunday, ripped Roma apart with three goals in five minutes early in the second
half.
Former Roma coach Fabio Capello watched his Juventus side take the lead on
the stroke of halftime, against the run of play, when Czech midfielder Pavel
Nedved rose above Christian Panucci to head home a Mauro Camoranesi cross.
Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic doubled the advantage with a brilliant solo goal in
the 56th minute which displayed his full array of skills.
Receiving a long ball from Emerson, Ibrahimovic left his marker Samuel
Kuffour stranded with a brilliant back-heeled turn and then raced goalwards
before beating Roma's Brazilian keeper Doni with a confident strike with the
outside of his foot.
Two minutes later, Trezeguet made it 3-0 with a textbook header from a
pinpoint cross by Gianluca Zambrotta as Roma's defence failed to cope with the
Turin team's direct approach.
Three minutes after that, the game was put totally beyond Roma when Nedved
fed Ibrahimovic whose simple pass across the area was side-footed home by
Trezeguet with a bewildered home defence standing by.
Although by then the game was as a contest, the rapid stream of events
continued when a minute later Roma striker Vincenzo Montella was tripped inside
the penalty area by Lilian Thuram.
Juve's French defender Thuram was sent off and Roma captain Francesco Totti
blasted home the penalty to make it 4-1 but Juve closed ranks and kept a firm
grip on the result.
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