Juventus won an important victory against Lazio on Saturday evening. Andrea Pirlo dared to let Cristiano Ronaldo start on the bench and saw his team fall behind early on. Juventus, however, fought back nicely: 3-1. Matthijs de Ligt was not available due to calf complaints, but is expected back on Tuesday for the return in the Champions League against FC Porto. Juventus remains third with seven points behind leader Internazionale, while a Champions League ticket for number seven Lazio is out of sight.
At Juventus, Leonardo Bonucci returned to the match squad, but the center-back only played the last eight minutes. Pirlo chose a central duo consisting of Danilo, usually the right back, and Merih Demiral. In the front, Álvaro Morata had a basic place in the absence of Ronaldo. Twenty minutes before the end, the Portuguese attacker came into the field for Morata. At Lazio, Wesley Hoedt started in the base for the second time in a row.
The opening phase was clear to Lazio, who issued a warning to Juventus via a dangerous free kick from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. In the fourteenth minute, the visitors took the lead. Correa dribbled threateningly at Merih Demiral from the left, cut in and found the short corner with a low shot: 0-1. Juventus grew in the game and saw its strong phase be rewarded with a goal right before half time.
Danilo headed a free kick by Federico Bernardeschi just wide, a minute later Adrien Rabiot was sent into the penalty area by spokesman Álvaro Morata. Rabiot could have crossed, but instead surprised Pepe Reina with a rock-hard shot into the short corner: 1-1. Shortly after the break, Federico Chiesa on behalf of Juventus bumped into Reina in the short corner after an inside action, while Milinkovic-Savic hit the bar with a header on the other side.
A razor-sharp counter then helped Juventus take the lead. Chiesa sent Morata away, who beat Wesley Hoedt in the sprint and hit the intersection with the left: 2-1. An oil-stupid foul by Milinkovic-Savic brought the home team to roses three minutes later. The Lazio midfielder brought down Aaron Ramsey in the penalty area, who at the time posed no danger. The penalty was shot in by Morata: 3-1. Lazio tried to come back, but saw Wojciech Szczesny save on a dangerous bet from Ciro Immobile and was unable to make a fist.