Juventus have won a third consecutive Serie A victory since Moise Kean and Ángel Di Maria scored a 2-0 victory over relegation-threatened La Spezia on Sunday.
Spezia sacked coach Luca Gotti in the middle of the week and made some improvements, but Massimiliano Allegri’s team still won at the Alberto Picco stadium.
Keane’s deadly finish in the 32nd minute set visitors Juventus back on track before substitute Di Maria scored in the second period to score three points.
The victory moved Juventus to seventh place, albeit nine points behind sixth-place Atalanta, and went to Europe the following season, while La Spezia remain two points above the relegation zone.
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Dušan Vlahović observed that a cold-blooded finish was ruled out due to offside in a slow start, and Danilo gave a big nod after Spezia lost goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragovski to an apparent thigh injury.
Juventus took advantage of Filip Kostic’s cross from the left flank and Keane calmly fired a left foot into the bottom right corner past Federico Marchetti.
Eldor Shomurodov nodded but missed the target and Emmanuel Gyasi was unable to touch the ball bouncing past Mattia Perin as the hosts tried to respond.
Keane took a brilliant chance after Alex Sandro’s serve after the break before Danilo blew Shomurodov with a final block.
Di Maria, who was replaced by Keane, put an end to any hope of a return fight with Spezia with a shot into the bottom right corner from outside the penalty area in the 66th minute.
Perrin made a clever stop to refute Gyasi’s furious efforts as Juventus raced for another triumph.
What does it mean? Juventus continues to recover
With a Coppa Italia semi-final against Inter in April and Europa League qualification hopes, Allegri’s team still has a chance to salvage their season after deducting 15 points last month.
Italy’s top six may be too far away, but Juve continue to bounce back after winning their sixth consecutive Serie A match against Spezia, who haven’t scored at home in the league since a 2-2 draw with Atalanta on 4 January.
If the Bianconeri can beat Nantes 1-1 in the second leg of the Europa League play-offs, Juventus can be proud of their response to the penalties.
Cool Kostich
Kostic continues to impress after signing for Eintracht Frankfurt in August with another clean pass from the left flank.
The Serbian Serbian international has scored nine goals in all competitions this season, only Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in good form (12) has scored more assists among Serie A players.
The key to defensive solidity for Juventus
Juventus haven’t scored in four of their six league wins against La Spezia, and Allegri’s side’s defensive tenacity has been a notable factor this season.
The Bianconeri have won the most Serie A games this season without a defensive offense (14), the last time they managed more strikeouts after 23 league games in 1977-78 (16).
What’s next?
Juve will visit Nantes in the aforementioned European match on Thursday, and five days later in Serie A they will host fierce rivals Torino.