Juventus regained the Serie A lead after Alessandro del Piero scored a late free-kick on his 700th appearance for the club to seal a 2-1 home win over SS Lazio on Wednesday.
AC Milan had beaten Chievo Verona 1-0 on Tuesday to throw down the gauntlet to their rivals, but Juve went a point clear after a hard-fought game where Lazio’s Stefano Mauri had equalized Simone Pepe’s opener.
“We are in the final stages of the battle, we won’t give up and neither will they,” Del Piero told Sky. “I feel fine in the head and in my legs, and I’m just thinking about the next game.”
Photo: EPA
Six games remain in one of the closest title run-ins in Italy for many years, while the defeat for third-placed Lazio opened up the battle for the Champions League qualifying berth.
AS Roma beat fourth-placed Udinese 3-1 to go four points behind Lazio, while Napoli lost 3-1 at home to Atalanta BC and Inter beat AC Siena 2-1 thanks to Diego Milito’s San Siro double.
Inter are now level with Napoli in a potential final Europa League spot as new coach Andrea Stramaccioni won for the second time in his three games in charge and Napoli failed to win for the fifth straight time in the league.
Juventus dominated at their eponymous stadium and were unlucky to go in level at the break having carved out several chances, with Pepe scoring on the turn from Andrea Pirlo’s pass on 30 minutes after missing an easier opportunity moments -earlier.
Mauri scored with a header on the stroke of halftime to give champions Milan hope they would stay top going into the weekend, but 37-year-old Del Piero, mainly a substitute these days and with his future up in the air, netted eight minutes from time.
Lazio goalkeeper Federico Marchetti could perhaps have done better to save the trademark free-kick, but Juve fans did not care as their evergreen hero dug them out of a hole yet again.
In other results, bottom side Cesena are almost down after a 1-1 draw at Genoa, second-bottom Novara Calcio also look doomed following a 2-0 loss at Parma.
Lecce, who occupy the other relegation place, boosted their hopes of survival and cut the gap to Genoa to two points with a 2-1 victory at fading Catania.
Fiorentina and Palermo played out a goalless draw.
Additional reporting by staff writer
A runner who stopped during a marathon in China to pose doing the splits and another who hoarded energy gels have been banned for two years, the local athletics association said yesterday. The incidents happened during Sunday’s marathon in Sichuan Province’s Chengdu and were widely shared online. Videos showed a female runner stopping suddenly and dropping to the ground in the splits position, holding up her arms in a heart shape as she apparently posed for a photograph. She “committed obstructive fouls during the race, affecting the safe participation of other runners,” the Sichuan Athletics Association said in a statement, which identified
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
Workers are hammering, cranes are swinging and seats are being bolted into place — but the clock is ticking. Mexico City’s famous Azteca stadium, reborn as Estadio Banorte, is in a frantic race to be ready for its grand reopening on Saturday. Drone footage showed crews installing seats and attaching the new stadium name to the facade, with cranes looming overhead 48 hours before the gates are due to open for a high-profile friendly between Mexico and Portugal. For residents, the breakneck pace of construction has done little to inspire confidence. “I know they are working practically seven days a week, 24 hours
RSS