Serie A Recap: Gonzalo Higuain finds form for Juventus ahead of Barcelona clash

Juventus got a much needed confidence booster ahead of Champions League quarters with Gonzalo Higuain ending his five game barren run.

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Juventus sit six points ahead of AS Roma at the top of the Serie A standings. (Source: AP)

It was routine offering from the teams at the top of the Italian Serie A as leaders Juventus and second-placed Roma both registered wins, with the latter continuing to make efforts to topple the defending champions. Roma’s efforts might inevitably end up in vain as Juventus look like a side that are determined not to lose out on an almost assured league title. But as Juventus inch closer to yet another title to their name, the weekend offered a lot more than the tale of the Old Lady’s dominance.

Firstly, going into the weekend, Juventus’ record signing Gonzalo Higuain was witnessing an uncharacteristic crisis of confidence. The Argentine striker had not scored in the last five league games; and with the Champions League fixture against Barcelona coming up, the goal drought was a major concern for Juventus. But on Sunday, as Juventus played Chievo Verona at home, Higuain put all doubts over his ability to rest as he scored both the goals in the game. Although shaky yet firm, Juventus got past Chievo as they notched up an impressive 32nd consecutive home league win. With the two goals on Sunday, Gonzalo Higuain has now 21 league goals to his name, far behind last year’s numbers for Napoli but still impressive for a debut season.

With the win Juventus remain six points clear at the top of the table. Second-placed Roma on the other hand kept the wins coming in, thanks to Edin Dzeko who with a goal and an assist led the Giallorossi to a comfortable 3-0 victory away from home at Bologna. While the win doesn’t shake up the Serie A table, it did give a moment of personal achievement for Dzeko. The former Manchester City striker scored his 24th league goal of the campaign, and now leads the goalscorers chart in Serie A. With seven matchdays in Serie A yet to go, Roma will host Juventus in just over a month’s time. They can only hope that the title race is still within reach by then.

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A position below, Napoli tightened their grip on the final Champions League spot with a massive win over fourth placed Lazio. Thanks to diminutive forward Lorenzo Insigne’s two goals, Napoli cruised to a 3-0 away win at Lazio. The win puts them seven points clear of Lazio, who meanwhile might have to settle for an automatic place in next year’s Europa League. Earlier on Saturday, Atalanta’s home draw against Sassuolo assured that Lazio don’t slip any further. The two sides remain separated by a point. Inter Milan suffered a setback in the race for European spots as a shock defeat to relegation-battlers Crotone on Sunday pushed them down to seventh in the league. On the same day, city rivals and fellow struggling giants AC Milan meanwhile took most of the opportunity as they thrashed Palermo 4-0. With this late season resurrection, Milan now sit two points ahead of Inter at sixth position while separated by another two points from fifth placed Atalanta.

Results: Empoli 1-1 Pescara; Atalanta 1-1 Sassuolo; Juventus 2-0 Chievo Verona; Sampdoria 2-2 Fiorentina; Udinese 3-0 Genoa; Cagliari 2-3 Torino; Bologna 0-3 Roma; AC Milan 4-0 Palermo; Crotone 2-1 Inter Milan; Lazio 0-3 Napoli.