Paul Pogba and Juventus agree to terminate contract
Paul Pogba and Juventus have mutually agreed to part ways as the French midfielder faces an 18-month ban from football.
Serie A table-topper Juventus thrashed Lecce 4-0 on Friday to extend their lead at the top by seven points. Cristiano Ronaldo was the star of the night against and scored one and set up another two as 10-man Lecce failed to reduce the gap at the pinnacle of the points table.
The Old Lady had to wait an entire half to get their first breakthrough as a determined Lecce backline prevented the star-studded Juventus attack. Paulo Dybala opened the scoring at the empty Allianz Stadium in Turin before Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain and Matthijs de Ligt followed it with their strikes.
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With Mattia De Sciglio injured and Danilo suspended, Blasie Matuidi stepped in as a left-back, and Federico Bernardeschi earned another start in a three-forward line spearheaded by Dybala.
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Lecce, who only collected 25 points in the season, held Juventus for a goalless first-half, but were one player down in the 31st minute as Fabio Lucioniwas given a red card after tackling down Rodrigo Bentancur.
The Bianconeri broke the deadlock just eight minutes after the break when Ronaldo squared for Dybala, and La Joya’s curler swerved into the quiet corner with both power and precision.
Ronaldo then registered his name on the scoresheet from the penalty spot in 62nd minute. The Portuguese seemed unstoppable in the second half as he got several chances to take his goal tally upwards, but tactical marking from Lecce defenders resisted that from happening.
However, they failed to restrict a backheel pass from Ronaldo before Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain pounced on to it to make it 3-0 in the 83rd minute.
The final nail in the coffin was put by Dutch defender de Ligt as he outraged the back of the net with a low header off a delivery from Douglas Costa.
Juventus lead the table with 69 points after 28 rounds. The second-placed Lazio will take on Fiorentina on Saturday.
With IANS inputs
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