16 September 2023
Unfazed by the interruption of leaue duty for the international break, Juventus made it back-to-back wins in Serie A with an impressive 3-1 over Lazio in the opening fixture of Matchday 4.
The Bianconeri charged into a two-goal advantage before the half hour mark was reached in the first half following clinical finishes from Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa.
Although the visitors pulled one goal back through Luis Alberto midway through the second period, another outstanding goal from Vlahovic restored Juve's two-goal advantage two minutes later.
The first home win of the campaign saw Juventus reach the 10-pioint mark, leaving last seasons runners-up already seven points adrift.
THE MATCH
Massimiliano Allegri confirmed the same outfield players that had started the previous match, against Empoli - a first for the coach since his return - and the decision to stick by Weston McKennie on the right side of midfield proved crucial.
The USA international, enjoying his 100th appearance in the black and white stripes, was involved in the build-up for all of the Bianconeri’s goals.
On 10 minutes the midfielder stretched to keep the ball in play. His pass to Manuel Locatelli was played first time into the heart of the penalty area where Dusan Vlahovic swooped on the half volley. The number 9 thundered his shot beyond Ivan Provedel for his third of the season.
Filip Kostic, with a swerving shot from the edge of the area, and Vlahovic, with a close-range header from the resulting corner after Provedel’s finger-tip save, came close to adding a quick second for the Bianconeri.
The team’s second goal arrived on 26 minutes. Federico Chiesa also enjoying his third of the campaign. The number 7 pounced ahead of Adrien Rabiot onto a cross from McKennie and lashed a right foot curler that Provedel could do nothing about.
The goal arrived just after Lazio had come close to equalising. Maurizo Sarri’s side found the opening through Daichi Kamada, whose rasping effort was acrobatically tipped over the crossbar by Wojciech Szczesny.
The Bianconeri came out in determined fashion after the restart and only a reflex save from Provedel stopped Adrien Rabiot from adding a third goal.
Lazio continued to play their football, however, and with Juve being guilty of sitting too deep, found a way back into the match - or so it seemed. Andrea Cambiaso was caught in possession and Luis Alberto took advantage to curl a shot up and over Szczesny.
The electric atmosphere that had filled the Alianz Stadium until then was silenced. The moment of trepidation lasted all of two minutes, however, the time Vlahovic needed to power home his second of the afternoon. The striker received a cross-field pass from McKennie but still had a lot to do. Undaunted, the number 9 brought the ball down on his chest and held off two challenges before drilling his shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
The fans greeted the prodigious act with thunderous applause, as they did when the goalscorers were substituted with less than 10 minutes to play. Arkadiusz Milik and Moise Kean had chances to add to the tally on the counter-attack as Lazo threw more players forward.
A huge roar greeted the final whistle as Juve collected a 10th point from the 12 available. With the Vlahovic-Chiesa partnership producing the goods, the Bianconeri look confidently ahead to next weekend’s trip to face Sassuolo.
JUVENTUS 3-1 LAZIO (HT: 2-0)
Scorers: 10′ & 67’ Vlahovic, 26’ Chiesa, Luis Alberto 65’
JUVENTUS: Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; McKennie (71′ Weah), Miretti (58′ Fagioli), Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic (58′ Cambiaso); Chiesa (83′ Kean), Vlahovic (83′ Milik). Subs not used: Pinsoglio, Perin, Alex Sandro, Rugani, Nicolussi Caviglia, Yildiz, Iling. Coach: Allegri.
LAZIO: Provedel; Marusic, Casale, Romagnoli, Hysaj (46′ Pellegrini); Kamada (77′ Guendouzi), Cataldi (46′ Rovella), Luis Alberto; Felipe Anderson (73′ Pedro), Immobile (69′ Castellanos), Zaccagni. Subs not used: Sepe, Mandas, Patric, Vecino, Isaksen, Lazzari, Gila. Coach: Sarri.
Referee: Maresca
Bookings: 7′ Miretti, 16′ Bremer, 60′ Gatti, 77’ Cambiaso, 81′ Vlahovic, 84′ Pellegrini
