Juventus rout Roma 4-1 to keep lead in Serie A

Rome: Juventus thrashed Roma 4-1 at home to open up a three-point lead at the top of Italian Serie A football.

The match was practically over after only 19 minutes Saturday night when the home side was 3-0 up thanks to goals from Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Alessandro Matri,as reported by a news agency. Pablo Osvaldo pulled a goal back from the penalty spot for Roma, but the visitors just could not to find a way back into the game. Sebastian Giovinco added a late fourth to leave Roma eight points behind the Bianconeri in the Serie A table. Roma head coach Zdenek Zeman conceded that Juventus were clearly a superior side. "We tried to play our game and didn`t manage it. Juventus were clearly superior for the entire match," he said. "We didn`t defend, nor attack effectively, so were always under pressure. The problem is finding the style of play, as if we don`t defend together then the gaps emerge and the team gets stretched out," he added. The first goal arrived in the 11th minute with Pirlo despatching one of his trademark free-kicks, opting for a low shot which took a slight deflection off the wall on its way past Maarten Stekelenurg. The second goal was a gift for Juve in the 16th minute as Leandro Castan handled the ball inside the area and Vidal stepped up to score from the spot. Three minutes later, the contest was practically over as Matri broke free to meet Stekelenburg and beat him with a powerful shot which released all the pent up frustration at not having opened his account for the season - until now. It could have turned even worse for Roma in the 36th minute when Mirko Vucinic grazed the top of the crossbar. Perhaps with one eye already on Tuesday`s Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk, Juve appeared to take it a little easier in the second half. They conceded a goal in the 69th minute when Leonardo Bonucci shoved Mattia Destro inside the penalty area and Osvaldo converted the spot-kick. Juve had a goal disallowed four minutes later with Bonucci in an offside position when he pounced to score after Paolo De Ceglie`s shot hit the post. Osvaldo had a shot saved by Gianluigi Buffon before Giovinco wrapped up the win in the last minute. He raced through, nudged the ball past Stekelenburg and then slid it into the open goal to wrap up the victory in a game which ended fractionally before the 90 minutes were up. IANS