Lazio maintained their impressive form by beating Juventus 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday to secure second place in Serie A.
Over the weekend, as Milan, Inter and Atalanta lost points, Lazio took full advantage with an entertaining victory over Juventus, who are eight points behind the top four.
Adrien Rabiot canceled the first strike of Sergei Milinkovic-Savic in a feverish first-half finish, and that sloppy goal ended Lazio’s six-game league-less streak.
But Mattia Zaccagni restored the hosts’ lead eight minutes after the restart, while Lazio held on and moved five points clear of third place, which is now occupied by rival Roma.
Mattia Zaccagni #LazioJuve pic.twitter.com/MIDcVwDV2B
— Liga Serie A (@SerieA_EN) April 8, 2023
Wojciech Szczesny made a fine save to deflect a volley from Ciro Immobile, but there was little the Juventus goalkeeper could do to recapture Milinkovic-Savic from close range in Lazio’s first leg in the 38th minute.
Referee Marco Di Bello allowed the goal to stand after a fieldside monitor check, despite visitors claiming that Milinkovic-Savic pushed Alex Sandro before controlling and shooting.
A member of the Juventus backroom team was given a red card and substitute Leonardo Bonucci was booked for their protests, but Juventus equalized before half-time when Rabiot came into play after Ivan Provedel deflected Bremer’s initial header.
Lazio took the lead again in the 53rd minute thanks to Zaccagni’s first shot into the bottom right corner after Luis Alberto heeled the ball brilliantly into his path in front of the net.
Massimiliano Allegri turned to Federico Chiesa and Arkadiusz Milik from the bench, but Juventus failed to record a meaningful try in the second half, failing to bounce back in the top four.