Title-winning teams often grind out results, despite not playing well — and that is precisely what Juventus is doing.
AC Chievo Verona had won just one of their past six matches, but Juventus struggled to break them down before eventually winning 2-1 on Sunday.
Miralem Pjanic had struggled to fit in since transferring from AS Roma in the off-season, but he scored what was to prove the winner for Juventus in the 75th minute with a trademark free-kick into the top-right corner from just outside the area. Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino barely moved.
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was making his 600th Serie A appearance, becoming only the fourth player to reach that mark after Paolo Maldini (647), Javier Zanetti (615) — who are both retired — and Roma captain Francesco Totti (607).
It was the battle of the young goalkeepers in Sicily, as AC Milan edged US Citta di Palermo 2-1. Milan’s Gianluigi Donnarumma is just 17, while Palermo counterpart Josip Posavec is 20.
Posavec gifted Milan the lead in the 15th minute, colliding with his own defender as he came out to collect Mattia De Sciglio’s cross and losing the ball, allowing Suso to deposit the ball into an empty net.
Posavec made up for his error in the second half with three stunning saves to deny Suso each time, but was beaten in the 82nd, when substitute Gianluca Lapadula cheekily back-heeled Suso’s long-range attempt into the bottom corner.
Problems continued for managerless Inter on and off the pitch, with a win 3-0 over Serie A’s bottom side in a hostile atmosphere at San Siro.
The score was more generous than Inter deserved, with three goals in the final six minutes. Mauro Icardi netted twice, the first a penalty, after Ivan Perisic had fired the Nerazzurri in front.
It was only Inter’s fifth win this season and fans made their displeasure known with several insulting banners directed at the players, as well as the club owners and directors.
After Icardi moved level with Edin Dzeko at the top of the scoring charts, all eyes were on the Roma forward to see if he would strike again.
Instead of Dzeko, it was Mohamed Salah who stole the headlines with his first hat-trick in club soccer as Roma defeated Bologna 3-0.
Empoli ended their goal drought in spectacular fashion, scoring double the number of goals they had netted all season, in a 4-0 win at fellow strugglers Delfino Pescara 1936.
Massimo Maccarone netted twice for Empoli, who had not found the back of the net in the past eight rounds, and also provided the assist for Manuel Pucciarelli. Riccardo Saponara added a fourth in the final minute.
Elsewhere, Atalanta BC won 3-0 at US Sassuolo to continue their impressive run of form and move level on points with fourth-placed SS Lazio, while ACF Fiorentina versus UC Sampdoria and Genoa versus Udinese both ended 1-1.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
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