Cristiano Ronaldo on Sunday scored twice as Juventus beat Udinese 3-1 to join Inter at the top Serie A after Antonio Conte’s side were held 1-1 at ACF Fiorentina.
Dusan Vlahovic snatched a point for Fiorentina two minutes into stoppage-time to frustrate Inter, who had led following Borja Valero’s opener after eight minutes in Tuscany.
Both Juventus and Inter have 39 points from 16 games, with Antonio Conte’s side ahead on goal-difference.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Ronaldo struck twice in the first half to make it five goals in four games as the reigning champions got back winning ways after the previous weekend’s first defeat of the season to SS Lazio.
“That’s how we have to play, with confidence,” Ronaldo said.
The Portuguese star tapped in a Paulo Dybala rebound after nine minutes at the Allianz Stadium, then burst through to finish off a Gonzalo Higuain pass on 36 minutes.
Photo: AFP
Leonardo Bonucci sealed the three points just before halftime when he headed in from close range.
Ignacio Pussetto pulled a goal back for 17th-placed Udinese four minutes into stoppage-time.
“It is the first time after a Champions League match that we managed to attack the game well,” Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri said. “We played very well for 60 minutes.”
In Florence, Valero scored off a Marcelo Brozovic cross against his former club, but the visitors failed to kill off the game.
Lautaro Martinez had the ball in the net after 39 minutes, but it was disallowed because Romelu Lukaku was offside.
Fiorentina goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski did well to deny Lukaku minutes later at full stretch.
Just as it looked as if Fiorentina were set to fall to a fifth consecutive defeat, 19-year-old Serb Vlahovic broke through from his own half, outpacing Milan Skriniar to rifle in from an angle.
It condemned Inter to their second consecutive stalemate after AS Roma the previous weekend, and followed their UEFA Champions League exit to Barcelona on Tuesday last week.
“It’s the third game where we did not get what we deserved,” Conte said. “We weren’t good at taking our many chances. Maybe we’re paying for fatigue. We’ve had seven games in 21 days, with Lautaro and Lukaku playing constantly.”
The pressure remains on coach Vincenzo Montella with Fiorentina’s last win on Oct. 30 and their next game against in-form Roma.
Roma moved up to fourth and into the Champions League places after three second-half goals sealed a 3-1 win over bottom side SPAL.
“Today it was important to win,” Roma coach Paulo Fonseca said.
Elsewhere, Bologna defeated Atalanta BC 2-1, Hellas Verona were held to a 3-3 draw at home by Torino, while the match between AC Milan and US Sassuolo finished goalless.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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