Late Andrea Pirlo strike hands Juventus victory over Genoa

Juventus moved 17 points clear at the top of the Serie A table courtesy of a late 1-0 win over Genoa this evening.

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The hosts enjoyed the best chance of a scrappy first half when Andrea Bertolacci met a lofted pass with his head, but he couldn't keep his effort down as it sailed over the bar.

Bertolacci had another decent sight of goal right on the stroke of half time when he climbed highest in the area to meet another cross, but once again he sent his header over the top.

Genoa continued to threaten in the second half and should have broken the deadlock 10 minutes after the restart when they squandered two golden opportunities in a matter of seconds.

Bertolacci first failed to beat Gianluigi Buffon from close range before Marco Motta fired the rebound inches wide of the post.

Their best chance of the match came with 20 minutes remaining, however, as they were awarded a penalty when Leonardo Bonucci handled inside the box. Emanuele Calaio stepped up to take it, but Buffon guessed the right way to deny the hosts once again.

Juventus struggled to create clear chances all evening but had a decent sight of goal with 15 minutes remaining when Paul Pogba latched on to a cross, only to send his header over.

The champions did strike late to clinch all three points, however, as Andrea Pirlo curled a trademark free kick into the top corner to give his side a hard-fought victory.