Juventus turned back their Champions League woes to consolidate fourth place with a 2-0 win over basement club Salernitana in Serie A on Sunday, while Roma beat city rivals Lazio with three goals in the first half. defeated 3-0.
Days after their 3–0 European humiliation by Villarreal, Juventus kept up their pressure to reclaim the Serie A title with a win that takes them one point behind champions Inter Milan, who have in hand. Third place with one game, and was held 1–1. At Home by Fiorentina on Saturday.
Leaders AC Milan have a three-point advantage over Napoli, with Juve seven points away from the top spot.
“We were in danger of being eliminated from the Champions League because no one expected us to leave,” said Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri.
“The boys responded well. The important thing was to win and make the difference over those who are chasing us.”
In Rome, Tammy Abraham secured a brace while scoring the opener within the first minute at the Stadio Olimpico.
The England striker added a second early before a superb free-kick from Lorenzo Pellegrini.
Roma coach Jose Mourinho said: “Today was really special, because it looked like the players were able to execute everything we had planned on the pitch.”
Roma dropped to sixth at the expense of Lazio slipping from the European places.
Atalanta jumped from Maurizio Sarri’s men to fifth place with a 1-0 win over Bologna, as 18-year-old Mustafa Sisse came in as a substitute and became a late winner on his debut.
In Turin, Allegri’s Juve extended their unbeaten league run to 16 matches and had an opportunity to move to third place when they host Inter in their next game after the international break.
Dusan Vlahovic teased Paulo Dybala for opening the scoring in the fifth minute for Argentina’s first goal in two months on the eve of resuming painstaking talks over a possible contract extension.
The Argentine, whose current deal expires in June, returned to the final stages of a loss to Villarreal after only several weeks with thigh and hip injuries.
This time he played in just under an hour and came down to a standing ovation from fans at the Juventus Stadium.
Vlahovic put his head on a Mattia di Siglio cross just before the half-hour mark to join Lazio’s Ciro Immobil at the top of the scoring charts with 21 goals in this campaign.
Captain Giorgio Chiellini returned from Italy’s World Cup qualifying play-off with a calf problem less than a week later.
Abraham shines in the derby
Roma are now undefeated in nine league matches after a spectacular derby performance.
Abraham gave Mourinho’s men a perfect start when Pellegrini’s corner bounced straight off the crossbar, tying the ball over the line.
He added a second close-range finish in 22 minutes to double the lead.
Pellegrini threw a superb free-kick from more than 25 yards into the top corner and the game extended past Lazio before half-time.
Abraham, who has been included in England’s squad for the upcoming international break, has now scored 23 goals in 40 appearances for Roma this season in all competitions.
“I demand Tammy a lot because I know her potential,” Mourinho said.
“Today is what Tammy is capable of doing and he needs to keep playing like that. I don’t mean goals, because you can score one day and miss another, but he has to have the same attitude he has to show in every match today.”
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