Juventus take delayed tie

Juventus thrashed Bayer Leverkusen of Germany 4-0 at the Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin, yesterday.

Juventus thrashed Bayer Leverkusen of Germany 4-0 at the Stadio Delle Alpi, Turin, yesterday.

The match, played at the third time of asking after twice being postponed because of fog, was one-way traffic with Juve romping to a 3-0 interval lead thanks to goals from David Trezeguet, Alessandro Del Piero and Igor Tudor.

After the break the outstanding Trezeguet added his second to post a personal club tally of 14 goals in all club matches this season.

Juventus coach Marcello Lippi was delighted with the result. "This is a good opening for us and I was pleased with the contribution of the players," he said.

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Leverkusen had struggled to find a hotel on Wednesday night after UEFA decreed the game be played yesterday, and eventually spent the night some 80km away at Saint Vincent in the Alps.

But Lippi did not believe that was a factor in the result. "I don't think it was a case of one team being more unsettled than the other," he said.

Despite Lippi's view the Germans certainly looked disorientated while Juventus were quickly into their stride.

Meanwhile Trezeguet had a two-match ban lifted yesterday after Juventus protested to the Italian Football League.

Trezeguet was banned on Wednesday after television pictures showed he had aimed a head-butt at Lazio forward Simone Inzaghi in a 1-0 Serie A defeat last Saturday.

JUVENTUS: Buffon, Tudor, Pessotto, Del Piero, Nedved (Davids 84), Iuliano, Birindelli, Trezeguet (Amoruso 77), Zambrotta, Tacchinardi, Thuram.

BAYER LEVERKUSEN: Hans Jorg Butt, Nowotny, Ze Roberto, Kirsten (Vranjes 75), Basturk (Schneider 52), Ballack, Lucio, Sebescen, Neuville, Ramelow, Placente (Zivkovic 66).

Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland).