Juventus won 1-0 at Cremonese in a thrilling contest to extend their winning streak to seven straight Serie A games.
In a game where the winless Cremonese had the better of the chances, Arkadiusz Milik scored a late victory for the Bianconeri. The referees twice caused the Serie A underachievers frustration in the first half, and Cyriel Dessers subsequently hit the post in the second.
Prior to their matchup with Inter, Juve moved to within seven points of league leaders Napoli thanks to Milik's free-kick that eluded Marco Carnesecchi.
Before an offside flag stopped home appeals for a goal to be awarded, Cremonese thought they had made a breakthrough when Matteo Bianchetti clipped a pass over the top for Emanuele Valeri to head past Wojciech Szczesny. Bremer rushed back, however, in an attempt to clear close to the line.
Shortly after, the home team did manage to put the ball in the back of the net, but Dessers was called for a push on Danilo and given a penalty. At the other end, Filip Kostic whistled a powerful attempt wide, and Matias Soule forced a low save from Carnesecchi with a driving effort from a distance.
With just over 20 minutes left, Dessers came agonizingly close to scoring the game-winning goal. After latching onto Valeri's header, Dessers unleashed a fierce effort that smacked off the post with Szczesny out of position.
The least Cremonese deserved was a point, but they were cruelly denied when Carnesecchi could only aid Milik's low free-kick onto the inside of the post.
JUVE'S DEPENDABLE BASE
Juventus not only achieved their seventh consecutive victory but also their seventh straight clean sheet by keeping Cremonese at bay. They have far and away given up the fewest goals in the division (seven), with Napoli (12) coming in second.
Only Roma (19) among the top six teams in Serie A have scored less goals than Juventus (25) on the opposite end, but Juventus' strong foundations will be crucial in the second half of the season.
FREE-KICK KING MILIK
When thinking of players you would prefer to have over a dead-ball situation, Milik's name might not immediately come to mind, but the forward's goal against Cremonese strengthens a very outstanding record.
No player has a greater conversion rate among those who have taken more than three free kicks in Serie A during 2004–05 than Milik's 33%, scoring on four of his 12 attempts.
DESIRED AIM BY DESSERS
Despite the fact that none of his three registered shots were on goal, Dessers was the most dangerous attacking outlet for Cremonese and deserved to score. In the second half, he came the closest when he hit the post.
Perhaps the Cremonese were treated unfairly because Dessers' goal was also overturned despite only making slight touch with Danilo during his push.
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