Juventus 3-1 Genoa: 5 talking points as Bianconeri secure comprehensive win | Serie A 2020-21
Juventus saw off Genoa 3-1 at the Allianz Stadium to secure back-to-back wins in the 2020-21 Serie A.
Dejan Kulusevski, Alvaro Morata and Weston McKennie scored for the hosts, while Gianluca Scamacca pulled one back for the Griffins in the second half.
Even though hopes of a tenth consecutive league title are fast receding, the Bianconeri made it clear they won't give up without a fight, racing to a 2-0 lead inside the opening 22 minutes.
The visitors looked like they were in for a long night but slowly crawled their way back into the game and halved the deficit four minutes after the restart.
However, a comeback didn't seem on the cards, as Genoa failed to build on Scamacca's goal. They conceded a third in the 70th minute as Weston McKennie put the game beyond doubt.
Despite the win, Juventus remain 12 points adrift of runaway league leaders Inter Milan, who beat Cagliari earlier in the day.
On that note, let's have a look at the five major talking points of the game:
#1 Juventus' fast start catches Genoa by surprise
Buoyed by their hard-fought victory against Napoli in midweek, Juventus came flying out of the blocks against Genoa.
It took the Bianconeri just four minutes to break the deadlock when some smooth work from Juan Cuadrado culminated with Dejan Kulusevski slotting home a lovely finish. That gave Andrea Pirlo's men some early impetus, which they sought to build upon.
Juventus hounded Genoa for the ball with terrier-like intensity, forcing the visitors into giving up possession before hitting them on the break.
One such moment saw Federico Chiesa race clear into the area. Following a goal-mouth scramble, Morata fired into an unguarded net from distance.
Juventus were two for the good within the opening 22 minutes of the game and didn't look likely to lose the game from there.
#2 Genoa fail to take their chances
Either side of Scamacca's goal, Genoa missed two excellent chances.
In the final moments of the first half, the striker himself was guilty of wasting an opportunity when he fired straight at Wojciech Szczesny after brilliantly getting in behind the Juventus defence.
Even though he atoned for that miss with a goal early in the second half, the Griffins saw another chance go begging just minutes later.
Former Juventus winger Marko Pjaca demonstrated neat footwork to escape his marker but couldn't keep his shot down, firing wastefully over with the goal gaping.