Report: Juventus 1 - Bologna 0
Sunday 14th January 2001
Juventus cut Roma's lead at the top of Serie A to six points after victory over Bologna on Sunday. David Trezeguet scored the winner after 12 minutes, but Juve were grateful to see Bologna striker Julio Ricardo Cruz miss a late second-half penalty before sealing the points.
Bologna gifted Juve the winner off the home side's first real chance of the match. Three Bologna defenders were guilty of watching Filippo Inzaghi, leaving an unmarked Trezeguet time to pick his spot with a header off a cross from Zinedine Zidane.
It was Trezeguet's seventh goal in 13 matches since joining from Monaco in the summer and it enabled Juve to take full advantage of Serie A leaders Roma's failure to beat Bari at home.
Juve had further chances to stretch their lead before the end of the half. On 22 minutes Zidane supplied another teasing cross from the right and Inzaghi outjumped the Bologna defence only to see his header bounce back off the bar with keeper Gianluca Pagliuca beaten.
Uruguayan midfielder Fabian O'Neill also came close for Juve with a powerful right-footed shot from outside the area that skimmed the crossbar.
With striker Giuseppe Signori out through injury, Bologna offered little up front and their hopes of getting back into the match were further hit when their coach Francesco Guidolin was sent from the bench after only 26 minutes for remonstrating with the referee Nucini over a Paulo Montero tackle on Bologna's striker Argentine Julio Ricardo Cruz.
Juventus president Umberto Agnelli congratulated his players in the changing room at half-time and the Turin side began the second half on the attack.
Trezeguet almost added to the home side's advantage on 59 minutes. The French striker picked up a pass from midfield from Zidane and ran into the area before releasing a shot that grazed the crossbar.
As the half wore on Juve's pressure waned and Bologna began to sense that they might get something from the match. Their chance came on 82 minutes when Marco Iuliano was adjudged to have blocked a shot with his arm in the penalty area, but Cruz blasted the resulting spot kick high over the bar.
Juventus: Van der Sar, Paramatti (Tudor 76), Iuliano, Montero, Pessotto, Zambrotta, O'Neill, Davids, Zidane, F Inzaghi (Kovacevic 79), Trezeguet (Birindelli 88)
Bologna: Pagliuca, Falcone, Padalino, Castellini, Brioschi, Piacentini, Maresca (Olive 55), Lima, Wome (Oliveira 64), Locatelli (Cipriani 79), Cruz
Referee: Nucini
