At the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Juventus produced a commanding display at the expense of Lazio. The home side prevailed with the final score showing 3-1, though it could have easily been a bigger result.
Max Allegri started with a 3-5-2 formation spearheaded by Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa. Weston McKennie and Filip Kostic took the wings, while Manuel Locatelli operated as a Regista in between Adrien Rabiot and Fabio Miretti.
The Bianconeri were the better side from the get-go, harrying their visitors with a flurry of attacks.
After ten minutes, Vlahovic put the Old Lady in the lead with a clinical finish. McKennie managed to keep the ball in play while the Lazio players claimed it went out of bound. Nevertheless, Locatelli picked up the Serbian with an exquisite cross. The latter beat his marker to the ball and put it past Ivan Provedel with a first-time shot.
The Biancocelesti eventually got a foothold on the match after 20 minutes, but Wojciech Szczesny pulled off a sensational save to deny Daichi Kamada.
Afterwards, it was the hosts who struck again. Locatelli found McKennie with a diagonal ball across the pitch. The American’s run caused havoc in the box. Adrien Rabiot ran with it before leaving the shot to Chiesa who beat the Lazio goalkeeper at his near post.
After the interval, it was more pf the same with Juventus coming extremely close to adding a third, but Adrien Rabiot’s close-range header was too weak to trouble Provedel.
Instead, it was Lazio who pulled one back, with Luis Alberto pouncing on a poor pass from Gleison Bremer. The Spaniard’s fabulous curler landed in the far corner, leaving Szczesny with no chance.
But just when the capital side was aiming for an equalizer, McKennie picked up a run from Vlahovic with a magnificent long ball. The bomber brought the ball down, warded off the challenge of his markers and found the bottom corner with his weak foot, thus restoring the Old Lady’s two-goal lead.
In the final minutes, substitutes Arkadiusz Milik and Timothy Weah wasted clear-cut chances to add to Lazio’s misery. Hence, the encounter ended with a 3-1 victory for the home side.
Allegri’s men temporarily sit on top of the Serie A table with 10 points as we await the outcome of the Derby della Madonnina between Inter and Milan.
Final Result: Juventus 3-1 Lazio
Scorers: Vlahovic 10′, 68′ (J), Chiesa 26′ (J), Luis Alberto 65′ (L)
Juventus (3-5-2): Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; McKennie (Weah), Miretti, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic (Cambiaso); Chiesa (Milik), Vlahovic (Kean)
