Substitutes give Juventus 2-0 win over Napoli
Lazio beat Milan at Olimpico
Serie A leaders Juventus scored twice in as many minutes late in the second half through substitutes Jose Martin Caceres and Paul Pogba to beat second-placed Napoli 2-0 yesterday.
Caceres netted with a powerful header after 80 minutes and Pogba wrapped up the priceless victory courtesy of a stunning volley two minutes later to score his first goal for the club.
The win puts the champions three points clear of Walter Mazzari’s side and extends their unbeaten run to 46 games after a tight, scrappy match looked destined to finish goalless.
“It was a difficult match for us. We deserved to win,” Caceres said.
“It’s fundamental for us that we can look at the bench and ask for them to change a match. This does not change anything however, this is only three points.
“There are still 30 matches to go.”
Napoli were second best for much of the game but almost opened the scoring after 26 minutes when striker Edison Cavani crashed a free-kick against the bar from a tight angle.
Despite being the dominant side, the closest Juve came to scoring in a tight first half was in added time when Claudio Marchisio struck a powerful shot from the edge of the area that Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis did well to tip over the bar.
Sebastian Giovinco was a constant thorn in Napoli’s side and should have given Juventus the lead 10 minutes into the second period but, after working some space in a tightly packed area, he blasted his shot wide with the goal at his mercy.
Juve’s Alessandro Matri also wasted a good chance after 65 minutes when he failed to control a beautiful long pass from Andrea Pirlo eight metres out with only De Sanctis to beat.
However, Antonio Conte’s side were not to be denied and with 10 minutes to go Caceres headed firmly into the net from Pirlo’s corner two minutes after coming on for Kwadwo Asamoah.
Former Manchester United youngster Pogba sealed the three points with a superb strike two minutes later, expertly firing a long-range volley low past De Sanctis.
“The boss didn’t give me any directions before coming on,” Pogba said.
“I got my chance to come on and, with the match at nil-nil, said to myself I would take my chance if it came.”
He added: “It’s an unbelievable feeling to score for Juventus and I hope this shows the coach that he can call on me whenever he needs me.”
In the evening match, a late rally was not enough for Milan to avoid their fifth defeat of the Serie A this season after going down to Lazio 3-2 in Rome.
Lazio opened a two-goal lead at half-time after making the most of the chances that fell their way following strikes by Anderson Hernanes and Antonio Candreva.
Mirko Klose made it 3-0 soon after the restart but Milan first cut the deficit through Nigel de Jong and Stephan El Shaarawy who broke from the left before beating the keeper with a rasping grounder.
However, after that Milan were unable to score again as Lazio held firm to retain third place, now only a point behind Napoli.
Results
Serie A
Juventus 2
Caceres 80; Pogba 82;
Napoli 0
HT: 0-0. Att: 37,000.
Lazio 3
Hernanes 25; Candreva 41; Klose 50;
Milan 2
De Jong 61; El Shaarawy 79;
HT: 2-0. Att: 33,000
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Juventus | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 4 | 22 |
| Napoli | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 5 | 19 |
| Lazio | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 8 | 18 |
| Inter | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 15 |
| Roma | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 11 |
| Fiorentina | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 11 |
| Catania | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 11 |
| Sampdoria (-1) | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 10 |
| Genoa | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Torino (-1) | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 8 |
| Milan | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 7 |
| Bologna | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 7 |
| Pescara | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 7 |
| Udinese | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 6 |
| Parma | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 6 |
| Chievo | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 6 |
| Palermo | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 5 |
| Atalanta (-2) | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 5 |
| Cagliari | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 5 |
| Siena (-6) | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 2 |
Playing today – 15.00
Atalanta Siena
Cagliari vs Bologna - 12.30
Chievo vs Fiorentina
Inter vs Catania
Genoa vs Roma - 20.45
Palermo vs Torino
Parma vs Sampdoria
Udinese vs Pescara
Next fixtures
Saturday: 18.00 Siena vs Palermo. 20.45 Milan vs Genoa.
Sunday: 12.30 Catania vs Juventus. 15.00 Bologna vs Inter; Fiorentina vs Lazio; Pescara vs Atalanta; Sampdoria vs Cagliari; Torino vs Parma. 20.45 Napoli vs Chievo; Roma vs Udinese.
Serie B
Ascoli 2 - Juve Stabia 4
Cesena 1 - Reggina 1
Cittadella 1 - Sassuolo 0
Lanciano 0 - Empoli 3
Livorno 0 - Verona 2
Modena 0 - Grosseto 0
Pro Vercelli 1 - Padova 2
Ternana 0 - Vicenza 0
Varese 0 - Spezia 0
Tomorrow
Bari vs Brescia - 20.45
Standings: Sassuolo 25; Verona 21; Livorno 19; Padova 16; Spezia, Juve Stabia, Ternana 15; Modena, Varese 14; Cittadella 13; Brescia, Ascoli 12; Bari, Vicenza, Novara 10; Crotone, Cesena 9; Lanciano 8; Pro Vercelli 7; Reggina, Empoli 6; Grosseto 2.