There will be three minutes of added time to be played.
89'
João Cancelo gets yellow.
Cancelo receives a booking for a cynical challenge on Paganini just as the latter was about to break away down the right. Referee Giua had no choice but to card the full-back, although he could count himself lucky not to have been sent off there!
83'
L. Paganini enters the game and replaces F. Zampano.
Baroni makes his final change as well, bringing on Paganini in place of Zampano.
81'
F. Cassata gets yellow.
M. Pjanić enters the game and replaces S. Khedira.
Pjanic comes on for Khedira as Allegri maxes out his number of substitutions.
Cassata becomes the fourth player booked in this match for tugging on Pjanic’s shirt seconds after the latter came on the pitch.
78'
M. Gori enters the game and replaces R. Chibsah.
Baroni's second substitution sees Chibsah make way for Gori in a like-for-like swap in midfield.
76'
Cancelo nearly finds Bentancur with a great cross into the box only for Sportiello to come out and punch it away from the Uruguay midfielder! Brave goalkeeping from the Frosinone stopper after some more pressure from the Bianconeri!
75'
The wall does its job though, blocking Ciano's free-kick with authority. In a twist of irony, it looks like Mandzukic got the vital touch to prevent the ball from going through the wall!
74'
Mandzukic takes out Viviani with a late sliding challenge that could be a cause for concern for the Old Lady, given the set-piece’s close proximity to Szczesny’s goal.
73'
Szczesny gets the ball out-of-play following intense pressure from Pinamonti, who managed to shadow the keeper before he is able to kick it out on the touchline. A nervy moment for Gianluigi Buffon’s successor there!
Minute
Description
71'
Warm applause from the Juve faithful, who show appreciation for Dybala’s bit of skill as he traps the ball with exquisite technique following Mandzukic’s raking cross-field pass.
70'
M. Cáceres enters the game and replaces G. Chiellini.
Chiellini gets an early rest, making way for Caceres in Allegri’s second substitution.
68'
Bernardeschi and Dybala combine just outside the Frosinone box with some quick interchanges, and the former nearly makes an immediate impact after coming on only for his pass to fail to reach any of his team-mates.
64'
F. Bernardeschi enters the game and replaces Cristiano Ronaldo.
And that goal was Ronaldo’s last contribution of the match, as he comes off to the adulation of the home fans for Bernardeschi in Allegri’s first change of the game.
63'
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a goal for Juventus! Assist by M. Mandžukić.
Mandzukic’s cut-back was excellently delivered, evading the entirety of the Frosinone defence and falling into the path of the onrushing Ronaldo who makes no mistake past Sportiello.
GOOOOAAAALLLL!!! RONALDO STRIKES AGAIN!! Bentancur gets on the end of Dybala’s pass from deep in midfield and plays Mandzukic with a cute ball, and the Croatia forward’s subsequent cut-back is met with a rasping shot by the Portugal star into the back of the net! 3-0 to the Bianconeri, and they now have the breathing space they needed!
62'
C. Molinaro gets yellow.
Molinaro becomes the second Frosinone player to get in referee Giua’s book following a previous challenge on Cancelo where there was no intention to play the ball.
60'
De Sciglio and Ronaldo combine out on the left, and the latter whips in a teasing ball towards the Frosinone box that Bentancur is unable to get any meaningful contact on! Goal kick to the away side.
58'
A. Pinamonti enters the game and replaces D. Ciofani.
Baroni makes the first substitute of the match as skipper Ciofani makes way for Italy Under-20 forward Pinamonti, who is currently on loan from Inter.
54'
Excellent challenge on Ronaldo by Goldaniga after Molinaro carelessly gives the ball away to Khedira, who plays in the Portugal forward only for the Frosinone centre-back to make a brilliant sliding tackle to stop him in his tracks!
51'
Ex-Juve man Molinaro incurs the wrath of the Bianconeri faithful after a sly foul on Dybala in front of the referee.
49'
Juve break away with Ronaldo out on the wing following some extended Frosinone pressure, and the Portugal forward plays the ball towards the onrushing Khedira only for the midfielder’s first-time strike to go straight at Sportiello.
46'
No changes to either side at the interval, with Mandzukic not needing to be substituted by Allegri during half-time despite carrying a potential wrist injury.
Juve get play restarted as the second half gets underway!
Bentancur and the crowd let out a collective sigh of frustration as he is unable to control a lovely long pass by Bonucci, resulting in a Frosinone throw-in.
45' +4
HALF-TIME: JUVENTUS 2-0 FROSINONE
45' +2
Frosinone get a corner late in the first half, but despite the number of yellow shirts in the box, Salamon is unable to play in any of his team-mates and Juve clear. However, Chiellini’s stray arm catches Ciano in an attempt to reach a high ball and the visitors get another opportunity with half-time looming.
45'
There will be two minutes of added time to be played.
40'
Cancelo strikes the ball with a low grass-cutter from the back post after getting on the end of Mandzukic’s cross, but his effort goes across the away side’s six-yard box and is well wide of the Frosinone goal.
37'
B. Salamon gets yellow.
Salamon becomes the second Frosinone player to be booked by referee Giua following some poor defending, pulling down Mandzukic just as the forward was about to turn away and go through on goal.
Ronaldo’s free-kick is up and over the wall, but doesn’t dip early enough to be a threat to Sportiello. Goal kick to Frosinone.
34'
Ronaldo skips past a couple of challenges before rifling in a powerful shot that Capuano does well to block! Juve’s play ends with a Mandzukic cross that Sportiello is able to easily collect.
30'
Frosinone make a rare foray forward towards the Juve box, and manage to win a corner themselves. However, the cross following the short set-piece is too high, and the Bianconeri gain a goal kick.
27'
E. Can gets yellow.
After conceding the first foul of the match as early as the first minute, Can becomes the first player booked for a needless handball in the centre of the pitch in an attempt to stop a Frosinone break.
Juve continue to venture forward despite Mandzukic staying on the floor following a robust Frosinone challenge. The Croatia forward gets back up though, albeit gingerly jogging around the pitch.
25'
Ronaldo takes the ball in midfield and has a pop from long-range, but sees his shot swerve well wide of Sportiello’s goal.
23'
Frosinone already look dejected out on the Allianz pitch, as Juve continue to run rings around them - particularly in midfield as Can and Bentancur dictate the tempo.
17'
L. Bonucci has scored a goal for Juventus! Assist by S. Khedira.
GOOOOAAALLLL!!! JUVE DOUBLE THEIR LEAD!! Mandzukic’s header from the back post following a knock-down from another home corner forced Sportiello into an excellent save, but Bonucci is the quickest to get on the loose ball and the centre-back celebrates his return from injury with a goal to make it 2-0 to the Bianconeri!
Khedira is able to get a touch on the ball, but he only manages to divert it onto the path of Bonucci, who powers his header with Sportiello in no man’s land.
13'
The Juve faithful excitedly raise their voices as Ronaldo manages to break away from Salamon out on the wing and is able to play it to Mandzukic, but the Croatia forward’s pass is brilliantly cut out by the away defence as the Old Lady fail to take advantage of another opportunity.
11'
Bentancur barges into Cassata deep into the visitors’ half, ending an extended spell of Bianconeri play around the Frosinone box.
9'
Chibsah trips Ronaldo with a rash challenge, and Frosinone concede a free-kick in dangerous territory. However, the set-piece opportunity ends in an anti-climax as the Portugal forward's low strike hits the wall before Sportiello is able to catch it.
6'
P. Dybala has scored a goal for Juventus! Assist by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo does well to resist his natural urge to shoot, instead playing the ball to Dybala who makes no mistake with a beautiful long-range strike.
GOOOOAAALLLL!!! AN OUTSTANDING FINISH BY DYBALA!! The Argentina forward takes one touch after being played in by Ronaldo, and he strikes the ball with such venom from about 30 yards that the sprawling Sportiello had no chance! 1-0 to the Old Lady, who gain the early advantage as Dybala scores his first Serie A goal since the first weekend of November!
5'
Frosinone skipper Ciofani manages to make the slightest of contact with a team-mate’s cross, but his glancing header is comfortably collected by Szczesny.
2'
Sportiello almost gets caught out in possession by an alert Ronaldo, but the goalkeeper does well to quickly avert the danger! Frosinone are under some intense early pressure from the Bianconeri so far.
1'
Referee Antonio Giua blows his whistle, and Frosinone get us underway at the Allianz Stadium!
Both sides are decked out in their usual colours, with the hosts sporting their iconic black-and-white stripes while the visitors are kitted out in all-yellow.
Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of this Serie A match as table-topping Juventus host struggling Frosinone at the Allianz Stadium!
Having built up an 11-point lead at the summit of Serie A, Juventus can be forgiven for resting a few players for today’s match in preparation for Wednesday’s blockbuster Champions League clash at Atletico Madrid. However, head coach Massimiliano Allegri and his charges should be just as focused for this fixture as the Old Lady look to maintain an unbeaten record against their visitors while furthering the gap between themselves and second-placed Napoli.
19th-placed Frosinone are now just a win from safety after two wins in their last three matches, and are currently on a run that is seeing them chase three away wins for the first time ever in the top flight. However, Marco Baroni’s men couldn’t have asked for a more daunting venue to continue that streak than the Allianz Stadium against the league leaders.
JUVENTUS XI (4-3-1-2): Wojciech Szczesny; Joao Cancelo, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini (c), Mattia De Sciglio; Sami Khedira, Emre Can, Rodrigo Bentancur; Paulo Dybala; Mario Mandzukic, Cristiano Ronaldo.
And without further ado, let’s take a look at how both sides line up, starting with the hosts.
SUBSTITUTES: Alessandro Iacobucci, Nicolo Brighenti, Luca Paganini, Marcello Trotta, Luca Valzania, Mirko Gori, Giuseppe Marciano, Paolo Sammarco, Luka Krajnc, Andrea Beghetto, Raffaele Maiello, Andrea Pinamonti.
SUBSTITUTES: Mattia Perin, Martin Caceres, Andrea Barzagli, Federico Bernardeschi, Carlo Pinsoglio, Blaise Matuidi, Miralem Pjanic, Leonardo Spinazzola.
The players are out and kick-off is drawing near.
FROSINONE XI (3-5-2): Marco Sportiello; Edoardo Goldaniga, Bartosz Salamon, Marco Capuano; Francesco Zampano, Raman Chibsah, Federico Viviani, Francesco Cassata, Cristian Molinaro, Camillo Ciano, Daniel Ciofani (c).
Now that the Bianconeri have the safety of a two-goal cushion, Allegri will want his side to finish off the rest of this match with no fresh injury worries with one eye on the Champions League in a few days, having just welcomed back the dominating duo of Bonucci and Chiellini to the squad. Barring the unlikely threat of a Frosinone comeback, we could be seeing the likes of Ronaldo and the previously mentioned duo being hauled off later on. As for Baroni, damage limitation will be at the forefront of his mind as they look to shut out any more threats from the Old Lady.
Both sides return to Serie A action next weekend, as Juve travel eastwards to take on Bologna at the Renato Dall’Ara next Sunday, while Frosinone head back to the Benito Stirpe to host Roma the previous day. Allegri and the Old Lady do have to make one pit-stop before domestic duties though, as the small matter of a midweek Champions League round-of-16 first-leg against Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid awaits.
And that wraps up our coverage. We hope you enjoyed our commentary, and until next time, goodbye!
Commentary
More…