Serie A round-up: Juventus pull further clear with Paulo Dybala hat-trick while Roma stumble

Paulo Dybala scored a hat-trick containing two penalties as Juventus beat Benevento 4-2 to move seven points clear at the top of Serie A.

The Argentina striker put Juventus ahead with a classy finish in the 16th minute before adding his two spot-kicks, one in each half.

Douglas Costa's late goal, which saw him run in from the left and strike an unstoppable 22-yard shot in the 82nd minute, provided the outstanding moment of a hard-earned win.

Lowly Benevento had drawn level twice, Cheick Diabate scoring both of their goals, before Juventus pulled away.

Juventus are chasing a seventh consecutive Serie A title, with Napoli their only remaining challengers.

Juventus head to Spain next to tackle Real Madrid on Wednesday in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, with the tall order of overturning a 3-0 deficit.

Third-placed Roma were beaten 2-0 on Saturday by Fiorentina, whose goals came from Marco Benassi and Giovanni Simeone before half-time. Roma also face a near-impossible task in Europe in the week ahead, trailing Barcelona 4-1 from the first match of their tie against the Catalan giants.

SPAL picked up what may prove a useful point in their mission to avoid the drop into Serie B, drawing 1-1 at home against Atalanta. There might have been a better outcome for SPAL, who took a 39th-minute lead through Thiago Cionek, but Marten de Roon equalised with a 78th-minute penalty for Atalanta.

In the late kick-off, Sampdoria were looking to close the gap on a Europa League place to a single point, but were held to a goalless home draw by local rivals Genoa.

Comments

Neuer back to training

Manchester City win the Community Shield 2018 as Sergio Aguero sinks Chelsea in 2-0 Wembley win

It was meant to be an afternoon where Maurizio Sarri could show that Chelsea had significantly progressed from the Antonio Conte side which was embarrassed at Manchester City in March, but it was not to be. Instead it was same-old City and same-old stars as Sergio Aguero bagged his 200th and 201st goals for the club while Chelsea dearly missed N’Golo Kante in midfield and, following an impressive pre-season, new arrival Jorginho struggled to make his mark. The champions picked up where they left off last season, ferociously pressing Sarri’s side with chances falling to both new signing Riyad Mahrez and Leroy Sane in the opening minutes. The Blues were under the cosh from the off, looking to play out from the back with the tireless Jorginho the lynchpin, but City kept on coming. ( AFP /Getty Images) Augero, whose future has always been uncertain under Guardiola, looked to be enjoying himself leading the line ahead of Mahrez and Sane fla...

Zidane: “We will not give Barcelona a guard of honour”

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane revealed that his team will not give Barcelona a traditional guard of honour if the two teams meet right after Barcelona become La Liga Champions. “We will not give a guard of honour, this is my decision,” said Zidane when asked about the matter. “Barcelona didn’t follow the tradition when we won the Club World Cup. This is my decision,” he added. Zidane is clearly stating that this is not something decided by the club in order to protect Real Madrid from potential criticism. Barcelona gave Real Madrid a guard of honour back in 2008 but they said that they would not do the same thing this past winter when Madrid conquered the Club World Cup. Nobody knows whether Los Blancos will finally face Barcelona under the circumstances which could make Madrid give said guard of honour, but it’s now clear that Zidane and his men will not hear anything about it.

Search This Blog