Juventus edged a step closer to a top-four finish with a 2-0 home win against Monza in Serie A on Sunday as Nicolas Gonzalez and Randal Kolo Muani scored first-half goals before Kenan Yildiz was sent off for the hosts before halftime.
Gonzalez gave Juve the lead after 11 minutes with a terrific shot from distance and Kolo Muani scored inside the far post with a simple low strike from the edge of the box in the 33rd.
Juventus were reduced to 10 men when Yildiz lost his cool and was handed a straight red for violent conduct after elbowing Monza midfielder Alessandro Bianco in first-half stoppage time.
Juve moved provisionally up to fourth on 62 points, two points above fifth-placed Bologna who visit Udinese on Monday.
The Turin side slipped out of the top four on Wednesday when new manager Igor Tudor’s unbeaten run ended as they stumbled to a 1–0 defeat at lowly Parma.
They travel to top-four rivals Bologna next weekend.
Monza, who are bottom of the standings on 15 points, could see their relegation sealed later on Sunday if lowly Lecce win at third-placed Atalanta.
Juventus started well and Kolo Muani could have given them a fifth-minute lead with a brilliant overhead kick, but his effort was straight at Monza keeper Stefano Turati.
The opener arrived soon after when Gonzalez collected a pass from Renato Veiga and unleashed a low, long-range strike that bounced right in front of the diving Turati before going inside the left post.
The Argentina forward scored his second league goal this season after netting his first in the reverse fixture in December.
Kolo Muani should have made it 2-0 for Juve in the 23rd minute but narrowly missed from a tight angle.
But it was third time lucky for the France forward, on loan from Paris St Germain, who eventually found the net after the half-hour mark for his sixth goal since moving to Serie A in late January.
Juventus dictated the game but were dealt a blow when Yildiz got his marching orders following a VAR review that confirmed the Turkish youngster elbowed Bianco in the face.
The forward could now face a two-game ban and therefore miss Juve’s key fixtures at Bologna and Lazio.
The home side focused on defending their advantage after the break as lowly Monza, who have won only two league games this season, swung possession in their favour but could not find a route back into the contest.
