Video: a black night at the Allianz Stadium: Lazio humiliate Juventus' pride
Juventus in the eye of the storm
Juventus were taken apart at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday evening, beaten 3-0 by Lazio in front of their own supporters in the seventh round of Serie A matches.
Lazio pounced on their opponents' stumble to claim a precious win that strengthens their standing among the Calcio elite. The visitors move on to 19 points and up to second place on goal difference behind leaders Inter. Juventus stay frozen on 11 points in eighth, another blow in the race for the top places.
The hosts started by trying to impose themselves on proceedings and thought they had found the net in the 24th minute. Nico Gonzalez played the ball to McKennie, who scuffed his shot before it reached Douglas Luiz, rebounded off Belahyane and fell to Kolo Muani, who put it away. The celebrations didn't last. Offside, and the scoreline stayed goalless.
Against the run of play, Lazio made one of their chances count in the 37th minute. The Juventus defence cleared a corner only as far as Zaccagni, whose fine cross into the penalty area was met by Provstgaard, rising between Bremer and Locomi to head into the net.
Juventus pushed to get back into the game after the restart, but Lazio dealt cleverly with the spaces available and landed another blow in the 67th minute. Nuno Tavares switched the direction of play with a fine long pass from distance, Isaksen skilfully got past Cilek and fired into the far corner. Two goals up, and the hosts' task had grown even harder.
Still hunting a way to reduce the deficit, Juventus were finished off in the 90th minute. Dele-Bashiru led a counter-attack from midfield, carried the ball all the way to the penalty area and unleashed a shot that found the net. Three for Lazio, and a night to forget for the hosts.
Three precious points take Lazio second in Serie A on 19 points. Juventus, meanwhile, need to review their situation quickly after a heavy defeat at their own stadium, one that has pushed them away from the leading places and raised questions about their ability to restore their balance in the coming rounds.
