Serie A | Monza 1-2 Juventus: Old Lady back to winning ways | OneFootball

Juventus finally ended their run of four straight Serie A draws with Weston McKennie and Nico Gonzalez, leaving Monza alone at the foot of the table.

The Bianconeri were jeered off the pitch after a fourth consecutive Serie A stalemate, which was against rock bottom Venezia, so could not afford another slip-up. Danilo and Tim Weah joined Douglas Luiz, Arkadiusz Milik, Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal on the treatment table, while Andrea Cambiaso was only fit for the bench. McKennie became a makeshift left-back and Nico Gonzalez took a new trequartista role. Monza had Daniel Maldini suspended, Milan Djuric, Matteo Pessina, Roberto Gagliardini, Alessio Cragno, Andrea Petagna, Samuele Vignato and Mattia Valoti injured.

See how it unfolded on the Liveblog.

Kenan Yildiz had a bizarre scoring opportunity in the second minute, as a poor clearance hit him and ricocheted just over the crossbar, then Dany Mota Carvalho failed to make the most of a poor Pierre Kalulu clearance and drilled wide after a Nico Gonzalez giveaway.

Juventus had a double chance on a Kenan Yildiz corner, as Stefano Turati flapped it off the head of Federico Gatti, then a combination of the goalkeeper and Andrea Carboni cleared the Nico Gonzalez follow-up off the line.

However, on the second corner from Teun Koopmeiners, Wes McKennie was allowed the space to volley in from four yards.

MONZA, ITALY – DECEMBER 22: Weston McKennie of Juventus celebrates with teammate Kenan Yildiz after scoring his team’s first goal during the Serie A match between Monza and Juventus at U-Power Stadium on December 22, 2024 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Monza got themselves back on level terms with a familiar name to Juventus fans, as Samuele Birindelli – son of ex-Bianconeri star Alessandro – met the Carboni cross from the left with a fantastic left-foot volley from 14 yards, his first ever Serie A goal.

Juve restored their advantage as McKennie knocked down a Nicolò Savona cross at the by-line and Manuel Locatelli cushioned it in the six-yard box, Nico Gonzalez reacting quicker than the Monza defenders to fire in from close range.

Koopmeiners needed some desperate defending with two blocks in a row on Dany Mota Carvalho

Koopmeiners went off with a muscular issue at half-time, replaced by Khephren Thuram.

Alessandro Bianco stung Michele Di Gregorio’s gloves with a ferocious strike, while Turati did the same on Kenan Yildiz at the near top corner moments later.

Turati twice had his gloves stung from distance by Nico Gonzalez, while Dusan Vlahovic just failed to connect with the Kenan Yildiz ball across the face of goal.

Savona charged down a dangerous Kyriakopoulos volley after a corner and Danilo D’Ambrosio blasted over from a very promising position following the Gianluca Caprari back-heel flick.

Dany Mota Carvalho got away from defenders well only to narrow the angle too much on the finish, while Turati made a big save on the Kenan Yildiz diving header at the back post.

McKennie 14 (J), Birindelli 22 (M), Nico Gonzalez 39 (J)