Juventus reduced the gap to Roma to three points with an entertaining 4–2 victory over the Serie A leaders at the Stadio Tre Fontane.
An end-to-end match saw Annamaria Serturini take the lead early on. However, strikes from Lineth Beerensteyn and Cristiana Girelli gave Juventus the halftime advantage.
Although Andressa Alves restored parity after halftime, the visitors retook the lead thanks to Beerensteyn’s second goal of the game before the three points were secured with Julia Grosso’s late effort.
Embed from Getty ImagesEntertaining first half
Roma wasted little time searching for the opening goal, taking the lead inside the opening two minutes. Manuela Giugliano’s inch-perfect pass over the Juventus defence found the run of Serturini, who calmly poked the ball past an onrushing Pauline Peyraud-Magnin.
Rather than being deterred by conceding early, Juventus’ offered an immediate response. Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir went close for the visitors when she powered a header against the crossbar before Beerensteyn restored parity in the 14th minute. The Netherlands international latched onto Gunnarsdóttir’s flick on, and she kept her composure to slide her shot beyond Camelia Ceasar.
Embed from Getty ImagesWith momentum in their favour, Juventus began their quest to take the lead. Ceasar had to be alert to tip Martina Lenzini’s fierce half-volley over the crossbar.
However, there was nothing the Roma goalkeeper could do to prevent Juventus from edging in front seven minutes before halftime. After Roma failed to deal with a Juventus free-kick, Grosso fired the ball across the face of goal for Cristiana Girelli to guide home.
Juventus show their quality
Just like in the first half, Roma managed to find an early goal in the second period. Giacinti’s thundered her effort against the post, but Andressa was on hand to score from the resulting rebound.
Although the hosts seemed to be in control, Juventus restored their lead in the 67th minute. Beerensteyn displayed her nimble footwork to drive into the box and curl the ball into the bottom corner.
Embed from Getty ImagesAfter falling behind, Roma’s hopes of claiming a point were ended when Grosso doubled the advantage with just over ten minutes remaining. The ball broke to the Canada international from a corner kick, and she found the net with a clinical finish.
As a result of the victory, Juventus extend their unbeaten league run to five matches. Meanwhile, Roma lost for the second time in Serie A this season, with both defeats coming against Juventus.
Roma: Ceasar, Bartoli, Wenninger, Linari (Ciccotti, 80′), Minami, Andressa (Glionna, 70′), Giugliano, Greggi, Haavi, Serturini (Haug, 80′), Giacinti
Juventus: Peyraud-Magnin, Lenzini, Sembrant, Salvai, Boattin, Junge-Pedersen, Grosso (Zamanian 87), Cantore (Cernoia, 74′), Gunnarsdóttir (Caruso, 33′), Beerensteyn (Bonfantini, 87′), Girelli
