The Old Lady Speaks Podcast, Episode 332: Juventus close the gap on fourth place as an unlikely hero saves the day
Juventus returned from the March international break with a victory over Genoa thanks to a very impressive first-half performance a their former starting goalkeeper coming off the bench to seal the victory on Easter Monday.
Juventus' Italian goalkeeper #16 Michele Di Gregorio hugs Juventus' Turkish forward #10 Kenan Yildiz at the end of the Italian Serie A football match between Juventus and Genoa at the Allianz stadium in Turin, on April 6, 2026. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images Juventus are in a position where they need as many wins as they possibly can get over the fianl eight games of the season if they want any chance of qualifying for the Champions League next year. They got the first of those wins on Monday.
After a dominant first-half effort, you would have thought Juve just strolled past Genoa at the Allianz. Instead, to ensure that the three points were secured, Juventus got a massive contribution from a player who wasn’t even in the starting lineup and is the same goalkeeper who lost his job about six weeks ago. Yet there was Michele Di Gregorio, coming on for an injured Mattia Perin to begin the second half, making as clutch of a double save as we’ve seen for some time, ensuring that the final 15 minutes were not a stress test to see just how well Juve could hold onto those three points.
Not bad, right? (The saves, not the second-half performance, OK? ) And with the help that Juventus got earlier in the day, the gap between themselves and Como in fourth place is now down to a single point as both teams can now look ahead to a weekend with huge fixtures.
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