Juventus shock defeat by Palermo

Juventus shock defeat by Palermo

Palermo prevented Juventus from moving to the top of Serie A with a thoroughly deserved win at the Renzo Barbera on Sunday.

Edison Cavani put a vibrant Palermo ahead in the 37th minute before Fabio Simplicio sealed the win five minutes later.

Palermo had a valid goal disallowed midway through the second half and could have gone on to score four or five, inspired by an industrious Fabrizio Miccoli, who himself hit the post late on.

The win lifts Palermo up to 10th in the Serie A table while Juve remain third, two points behind leaders Sampdoria and Inter Milan.

Juve knew a win would take them to the top of Serie A for a fortnight, given the impending break for internationals, but that was easier said than done against this Palermo side.

The Sicilians may have come into the game with only six points from the first six games of the season but the form guide was thrown out of the window for the visit of the Bianconeri.

The Rosanero played at a high tempo, which Juve simply could not keep up with, and Walter Zenga's number one strike partnership of Miccoli and Cavani, back in tandem for the first time in weeks, ran riot.

Cavani should have opened the scoring in the 15th minute when he had an open goal to aim at from Miccoli's cross but he directed the ball wide at the far post.

Giorgio Chiellini had to make two telling interventions to deny Mattia Cassani and Cavani from scoring with two quickfire chances in the 18th minute as a rampant Palermo accelerated towards the opening goal.

They got it in the 37th minute when Javier Pastore slipped the ball into the path of Cavani, who beat Gianluigi Buffon inside the top corner at his near post from 12 yards out.

Palermo did not let up and they added a second five minutes later when the quick-thinking Simplicio stole in to divert Miccoli's goal-bound direct free-kick past Buffon, who was already anticipating the trajectory of the ball and had no chance of reacting to the intentional deflection.

Juve's first chance did not arrive until the first minute of the second half when former Palermo striker Amauri turned and sent his shot just over the crossbar from 19 yards out.

The Bianconeri had to attack and look for a way back into the game but this just made it even easier for Palermo to find room to hurt Juve on the break.

Mark Bresciano's header brushed the outside of the post on one counter-attack before Miccoli skipped past Chiellini but saw his shot saved by Buffon.

Diego hit the crossbar with a direct free-kick at the other end but the better chances continued to fall for the home team.

Pastore had the ball in the back of the net in the 68th minute but it was ruled out for offside, which was baffling considering the Palermo midfielder had started his run from inside his own half.

Fortunately for the Sicilians, this error did not have a bearing on the outcome of the game as they rarely ran the risk of conceding while they were getting closer and closer to a third.

The tireless Miccoli struck the post with his next attempt but Buffon was not going to be beaten again.