Juventus defeat Monza to ease pressure on Motta

Monza's first-ever Serie A victory came against Juventus here just over two years ago, a fact that undoubtedly provided some encouragement in the early stages.

Shots flowed in from Samuele Birindelli and Gianluca Caprari, but the Old Lady responded by taking the lead inside 15 minutes, with Weston McKennie volleying into Teun Koopmeiners' corner at the near post from just a yard out.

Monza continued to struggle to play their game, but less than 10 minutes later they were suddenly level, after Andrea Carboni's ball from the left was met by the oncoming Birindelli, who hit a beautifully controlled volley into the bottom left corner.

Birindelli's first Serie A goal seemed to have come at the perfect time for Monza, and they continued to cause chaos in the final third, only to be put behind once again by their historic opponents.

McKennie's cross was deflected high and ended up in the six-yard box, where Manuel Locatelli touched the ball for Nico Gonzalez to finish from close range.

Once again the hosts looked inspired after the setback, with Dany Mota's effort blocked by Koopmeiners before Caprari tested former teammate Michele Di Gregorio on the stroke of half-time.

The second half started frantically, with players from both sides hitting the target. However, the goalkeepers were also on their game and attempts from Alessandro Bianco, Kenan Yildiz and Gonzalez were all parried.

The visitors briefly steadied the ship and began to control possession, although Monza worked hard in an attempt to make a late push in the final ten minutes. However, unlike Juventus' previous three league matches, there appeared to be no equalizer in injury time for the team behind, as Monza fell to a fourth home defeat after the rebound.

Combined with this result, Venezia's win over Cagliari means Monza drops to last place in Serie A for the first time since matchday six, potentially putting Nesta's job in jeopardy after just one league win since the legendary defender took over.

Juve, meanwhile, are still nine points off the leaders after the record-breaking draw, but they remain unbeaten and a first Scudetto in five years is certainly not out of reach.

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