Palermo vs. Juventus

Despite having the chance to go to the top of the standings Ciro Ferrara’s side were blown away in the first half as the visitors scored a quick double to head in at the break with a two goal lead.

In the second period the Bianconeri looked to fight back, but with little creativity in the final third, Juve failed to create enough clear cut openings whilst the Rosanero continued to threaten on the counter attack.

Palermo came flying out the blocks and almost found the net within 30 seconds when Miccoli charged through the Juventus line.

The pint-sized playmaker went close again just five minutes later when he was threaded in on by Javier Pastore. The shot to the near post did little to test Gianluigi Buffon and the World Cup winning keeper was well positioned to collect the danger.

On 15 minutes the Rosanero should have taken the lead when Miccoli put a delightful ball over the box for Edinson Cavani. The Uruguayan snatched at the ball with his head and was unable to steer the ball goalbound from 6-yards.

The Aquile continued to attack at will and Ferrara’s men were making heavy work of controlling the midfield as Pastore continued to work the strings and thread Miccoli into the danger zones.

On the half hour mark the Bianconeri had a golden chance when Camoranesi smashed a loose ball goalbound from inside the box. Fortunately for the home side Cesare Bovo was well placed on the line to stab the ball clear.

Just eight minutes before the break Palermo took a deserved lead when Pastore fed Cavani into the box down the right. This time the Uruguayan was spot on as he smashed his shot into the roof of the net leaving Buffon helpless between the sticks. The Bianconeri were opened up far too easily as Felipe Melo failed to stop the Sicilians breaking forward.

Three minutes later the Rosanero doubled their lead in emphatic fashion when Miccoli floated a free kick over the top for Simplicio to smash home from 5-yards. The Juventus backline was completely static as the ball came over and the Brazilian cut them in two with his perfectly timed run.

O So Simplicio | The Brazilian Coasted Through Juve's Backline

The visitors came flying back after the re-start as they looked to find a way back, and after just 90 seconds Amauri smashed a great effort just over against his former employers.

The visitors almost got themselves back into the match when Diego floated a wonderful ball onto the crossbar on 62 minutes. After closer inspection of the action replay it appeared Salvatore Sirigu had taken a decisive touch as the ball flew towards him and onto the bar.

Palermo continued to threaten despite Juventus’ increasing commitment to getting men forward in numbers. On 70 minutes Bresciano fired a great drive from range, but Buffon made an equally impressive save to keep the scoreline respectable.

Ferrara’s men could only launch balls into the box as they looked to find an opener, but with Amauri and Iaquinta heavily marked, the Juve forwards could do little to threaten the Palermo goal.

The Aquile should have had their third with just ten minutes to go when Miccoli went solo down the right wing and smashed a great effort onto the near post. It would have been the cherry on the cake for ‘El Pibe De Nardo’, who had torn the visitors apart with a man of the match performance.

The visitors threw everything forward in the final minutes but it was far too late as Palermo closed out an impressive victory to ease the pressure of coach Zenga and climb back to the comfort of mid-table.