Matthijs de Ligt Hands Juventus Crucial Win vs. Torino

Juventus regained top spot in Serie A when they beat Torino 1-0 in the Derby della Mole at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino on Saturday.

Matthijs de Ligt grabbed the decisive goal in the 70th minute.

The Bianconeri remain unbeaten with nine wins from their first 11 Serie A matches, while the defeat keeps Torino, who are without a win since September, in 13th place.

Clear-cut chances were few and far between for both sides in the first half.

It took almost 20 minutes for Juve to have an attempt on goal, but Cristiano Ronaldo failed to hit the target with his header.

The Bianconeri finally got a shot on target when Paulo Dybala forced a strong save from Salvatore Sirigu, while Soualiho Meite came close for the hosts at the other end but fired just over.

Sirigu kept the score level late in the half when he denied Leonardo Bonucci and De Ligt shortly after: 

Bleacher Report's Gianni Verschueren gave his take on the match at the break:

Sirigu beat away another shot from Ronaldo after the break and a fine volley from substitute Gonzalo Higuain as Juve sought to get in front.

The visitors finally got the breakthrough when Higuain put the ball back in the centre from a corner:

Torino came close to equalising soon after, but Wojciech Szczesny was equal to Cristian Ansaldi's effort after the midfielder had embarked on an impressive run.

Sirigu was alert to smother a loose ball to deny Aaron Ramsey.

At the other end, Gleison Bremer had a late equaliser ruled out for offside as Juve held on to secure the victory.

What's Next

Juve face Lokomotiv Moscow in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday before a home clash with AC Milan next Sunday. The day before, Torino travel to Brescia.