Juventus returned to winning form on Saturday but needed a lot of help from the goalpost.
The Bianconeri secured a 2-0 victory at Udinese, thanks to an own-goal by home goalkeeper Maduka Okoye and a shot from Nicolò Savona, both of which bounced off the right post just before going in.
This was only Juventus’s second win in their last six matches across all competitions, bringing them up to third place ahead of the weekend’s games. They are four points behind Serie A leaders Napoli, who will play against fourth-place Atalanta on Sunday.
Udinese dropped to eighth place after being overtaken by AC Milan, which won 1-0 against Monza. Before the match, there were only two points separating Udinese and Juventus.
Juventus took the lead in the 20th minute with an impressive play from Khéphren Thuram. He made a run into the box, nutmegged a defender, and took a shot from a tight angle.
The ball hit the inside of the far right post and then deflected off Okoye into the net. This would have been Thuram’s first goal in Italy, as he is the younger brother of Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram.
Udinese had several chances to equalize before Juventus extended their lead in the 37th minute.
The goalpost came into play again when Kenan Yildiz’s shot deflected off nearly the same spot, allowing Savona to score on the rebound.
Udinese thought they had pulled one back early in the second half, but Keinan Davis’s goal was disallowed because he pushed Juventus defender Federico Gatti, causing him to collide with goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio.
