Lazio joined reigning champions Inter at the top of Serie A yesterday after a second-half goal from Argentine striker Mauro Zarate brought a 1-0 win at fellow high-riders Chievo.
In the late match, Juventus returned to winning ways with Milos Krasic emerging as the hero for the Bianconeri with a hat-trick while Leonardo Bonucci was also on target for the hosts.
Zarate ought to have calmed the visitors’ nerves prior to his neat low finish past keeper Stefano Sorrentino with a brace but missed a simpler early chance from point blank range.
Chievo had been looking for a win which would have taken them top after winning three of their opening four games but Zarate instead ensured that Lazio moved on to 10 points from four games, level with Inter after the latter’s 1-0 loss on Saturday to Roma.
Chievo instead stay third a point off the pace, as do promoted Brescia, whose own hopes of snatching top spot were dashed by a 2-1 reverse at Bari, Emanuel Rivas and a penalty from Brazilian Barreto cancelling out a Panagiotis Kone strike.
In Turin, Alessandro Matri scored twice for the visitors, making the Juve defence look worryingly disorganised each time.
It was clear from the outset that Juve were desperate to bounce back from their defeat to Palermo in midweek.
Juve took a deserved lead in the 13th minute when Pepe’s free-kick was cleared to the edge of the area, where Krasic volleyed the ball with precision into the bottom corner.
Cagliari levelled seven minutes later with Matri taking advantage of a glaring error from the Juve defence. Not one man in black and white was near him as he stretched a leg out to divert Andrea Lazzari’s cross in from five yards.
Juve regained their earlier momentum and moved back ahead 10 minutes before the break when Krasic beat Alessandro Agostini to the ball at the far post and, with an outstretched leg, nudged Pepe’s cross over the line.
Vincenzo Iaquinta could have made it three before the break, but his shot was saved by Michael Agazzi in a one-on-one situation.
Juve’s third goal arrived in the 56th minute when a goalmouth scramble following Pepe’s corner culminated in the ball bouncing off Bonucci’s knee and crossing the line before Iaquinta’s touch made sure.
Krasic completed his hat-trick in the 70th minute with a bit of luck as his shot deflected off the knee of Davide Astori, wrong-footing Agazzi in the Cagliari goal.
The visitors went down fighting, though, as Nene fired over the crossbar from six yards before the same combination for the first goal earned the Sardinians a second consolation.
Again, the Juve defence left a gaping hole for Matri to exploit and, with just one touch, he diverted Lazzari’s through-ball past goal-keeper Marco Storari.
Much of the weekend talk centred on contrasting fortunes on Saturday for the two Milan clubs as Rafa Benitez’s champions and Champions League holders Inter slumped to a stoppage time header from Mirko Vucinic who gave Roma their first win of the season in dramatic fashion.
“It can happen that you concede a late goal but we just didn’t play with enough intensity,” opined Benitez.
Not everyone in the Roma camp was happy as skipper Francesco Totti was visibly angered at giving way to Vucinic and left the ground early.
Coach Claudio Ranieri preferred to gloss over that fact in saying: “Totti fought like a lion out there. Totti will see that the essential thing was to beat Inter. We are now on the right road,” said the former Chelsea boss.
Milan meanwhile moved to within two points of the top after new arrival from Barcelona and former Inter favourite Zlatan Ibrahimovic settled Saturday’s game at the San Siro against Genoa with a delightful 49th-minute chip, following on from his goal in Wednesday’s draw at Lazio.
“Milan are not all about one player,” said the Swede modestly afterwards, while insisting that “if we work hard we can be top come season’s end.”
In yesterday’s other matches, Fiorentina won 2-0 against Parma to win for the first time in the league this season while Udinese managed their first point of the campaign with a goalless draw at Sampdoria but remain bottom.
The weekend’s Serie A action took place after Italian professional footballers union AIC postponed a strike called over a contract wrangle.
Next fixtures
Saturday
6 p.m. Udinese vs Cesena.
8.45 p.m. Parma vs Milan.
Sunday
12.30 p.m. Lecce vs Catania.
3 p.m. Bologna vs Sampdoria; Chievo vs Cagliari; Fiorentina vs Palermo; Genoa vs Bari; Lazio vs Brescia; Napoli vs Roma.
8.45 p.m. Inter vs Juventus.
Leading scorers
5 goals Eto’o (Inter); Cavani (Napoli).
4 goals Di Vaio (Bologna); Pellissier (Chievo).
3 goals Cassano (Sampdoria); Matri (Cagliari); Krasic (Juventus).