Juventus remained on top of Serie A with a 2-1 win away to AC Siena as Miroslav Klose kept SS Lazio in contention with a brace in a 3-0 win over Delfino Pescara 1936 on Sunday.
In Sunday’s late matches, SSC Napoli kept pace with Antonio Conte’s leaders with a 2-1 win over Udinese which means they remain in second and are the only other unbeaten team in Serie A, while in the 157th Serie A derby between AC Milan and Inter, 10-man Inter prevailed 1-0 at the San Siro thanks to a fourth-minute diving header by Argentine Walter Samuel.
Juventus got off to a great start when midfielder Andre Pirlo gave them a 14th-minute lead from a sumptuous free-kick.
Photo: AFP
Siena had caused an upset at the San Siro a few weeks ago with victory over Inter and they were given hope when Emanuele Calaio rose to meet Brazilian Angelo’s cross to beat Gianluigi Buffon with a bullet header in the 47th minute.
However, midfielder Claudio Marchisio produced a superb volley from the edge of the area to give Juve an 85th-minute winner and take their impressive unbeaten streak to 47 consecutive games.
“This was a really important goal for the team. We need to send a signal that we’re motivated to defend our title,” Marchisio said.
Lazio have already suffered two defeats, although the visit to struggling Serie A newcomers Pescara was never likely to end in anything but a win for a side that had scored nine goals in six games.
Lazio took the lead after just five minutes when Brazilian midfielder Hernanes curled a free-kick past Mattia Perin in the Pescara goal.
Klose made it two when he latched on to Andrea Candreva’s through ball in the 25th minute and he claimed his fifth league goal of the season 10 minutes later when his header from a Hernanes corner beat the goalkeeper.
Lazio coach Vladimir Petkovic hailed a performance which left his side third on 15 points, four shy of Juventus and Napoli.
“Today, we were great in the first half and solid in the second. Congratulations to the boys,” Petkovic said. “The important thing is for us to do well and I believe we’re getting better day by day.”
Napoli’s 2-1 win meant Juve were denied the chance to pull clear of the chasing bunch and Inter’s slim victory over Milan means four teams have pulled ever so slightly away from the rest.
Inter had boosted their title credentials last week and their fifth win in seven starts means they are fourth with the same points as Lazio.
“There were two good points tonight — one was the way we approached this game and the second was how we handled it when we were a man down for the second half,” Inter coach Andrea Stramaccioni said. “We came into this game focused and started aggressively. We got the goal and when Milan came back into it, we managed to restricted them in our area.”
With only seven goals from seven games the needs of Massimiliano Allegri’s AC Milan side are clear, but the coach was once again left lamenting conceding yet another goal from a set-piece.
“We’ve conceded again from a set-piece and this is something we need to put right,” Allegri said. “Apart from the goal, Inter did not create too many chances. We did, and it’s a shame we didn’t manage to put them away.”
Elsewhere, Cagliari battled to a 1-0 win away to Torino to grab their first victory of the season thanks to Nene’s early strike from the penalty spot.
Catania maintained their solid start with a 2-0 win at home to struggling Parma, while ACF Fiorentina beat Bologna 1-0 at home.
AS Roma moved up to fifth with a 2-0 win over Atalanta BC with goals from Michael Bradley of the US and Argentine Erik Lamela.
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