Carlos Tevez Scores but Arturo Vidal Impressive Yet Again as Juventus Beat Genoa

Following their hugely impressive Champions League outing in midweek, the Bianconeri returned to domestic action on Sunday with a 1-0 victory when they welcomed Genoa to Juventus Stadium. The Turin giants had turned in a remarkable performance against Borussia Dortmund but knew the visitors would present a stiff challenge.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s men remain the only side to have beaten Juve in Serie A this term, and Massimiliano Allegri had spoken of the need to concentrate on this game rather than look ahead to their quarter-final clash with AS Monaco next month.

“It’s also going to be tough because they’ve had a week to prepare for it, while we basically only have today,” the coach said at his pre-match press conference, per the club’s official website. “So we'll have to come up with a big performance,” he added, demanding that his players continued their impressive recent form.

Indeed, since AS Roma scored in Rome earlier this month, Juventus had kept three consecutive clean sheets, recording league wins over Palermo and Sassuolo as well as that 3-0 victory at the Westfalenstadion.

Allegri was correct once again as Genoa proved to be a resolute opponent, pressuring the home side in midfield and remaining compact in defence. Luckily for the Italian champions, they can count upon a number of top quality players to pierce such stubborn resistance, and it was no surprise which of them brought the deadlock to an end.

There were just 25 minutes on the clock when a clever pass from Roberto Pereyra sent Carlos Tevez into the box, and the Argentinian striker unleashed a thunderous shot. Mattia Perin stood little chance of keeping it out, with the ball crashing off the crossbar and into the back of the net, handing Juventus a well-deserved opening goal.

Genoa continued to provide stern resistance, but despite their best efforts, the Bianconeri proved to be simply too strong, with Arturo Vidal turning in the latest in a string of impressive displays. Having suffered a serious slump in form following knee surgery and the World Cup, the Chilean is slowly returning to somewhere near his best form.

His effort with and without the ball was impressive on Sunday. Statistics from WhoScored.com show he made two tackles and three interceptions as he continually broke up Genoa’s attacking play. The same source shows that he added much to Juve’s own forward forays, completing 89.7 percent of his passes.

Vidal has weighed in with six goals and two assists this term, and although he failed to get on the scoresheet on Sunday, his contribution was no less valuable. His play was in-keeping with what has been a solid if unspectacular campaign in which WhoScored shows he has averaged an impressive three tackles, 1.4 interceptions and 0.8 clearances per game.

A missed penalty from Tevez after a foul on Pereyra saw La Madama fail to double her lead early in the second half, with substitute goalkeeper Eugenio Lamanna making an impressive save from the spot.

Vidal will now head off on international duty with Chile; the South American side are set to face Iran and Brazil in friendly action next week. The pause will also allow Juventus to recover Andrea Pirlo and Stefano Sturaro, the latter came on as a late substitute for Vidal with just three minutes left to play.

His importance to the side cannot be understated, and like the rest of the team, he appears to be hitting peak form at just the right time, with Juventus hoping to impress further still in the Champions League. As he has been since arriving in the summer of 2011, Vidal will be key to those hopes, and he told Sky Italia he expects a tough clash against the Ligue 1 side.

“No, no they are all difficult games,” the 27-year-old said (h/t Football Italia) and while that may well be true, they are much easier when Arturo Vidal plays at his best.