Lazio pummeled Juventus all afternoon, but they failed to finish off the game and were made to pay as Juventus produced a late comeback to win 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico.
The home side was electric for most of the match, forcing a good Wojciech Szczesny save past the half-hour mark as a right-footed effort from Marco Parolo brought the former Arsenal goalkeeper full-stretch. Juve then required a goal-line clearance by Daniele Rugani to keep out Ciro Immobile just before halftime after Szczesny had come out to challenge the Lazio striker.
[ MORE: Full recap of Sunday’s wild Serie A slate ]
Just past the break, the hosts remained in the ascendency as Luis Alberto found acres of space at the top of the box and rifled just wide of the left post. They would finally – and deservedly – go in front on a 59th minute corner that somehow made it through the forest and surprised Juventus midfielder Emre Can who ducked to avoid the delivery but could not, instead heading it into his own net.
As Lazio pressed for a second to kill off the game, Immobile had the best chance just four minutes after the opener, fed through on goal by Joaquin Correa, but the Italian somehow blasted his right-footed effort completely off target. That was the miss of the game, as Juventus then began to mount its comeback.
All it took was one attack to put Juventus level. Substitute Federico Bernardeschi burst down the left flank and cut back for Paulo Dybala who attempted an audacious left-footed effort. Dybala’s shot had so much pace that Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha was unable to control the rebound, and it fell to substitute Joao Cancelo for the tap-in.
With the game winding down and Juventus feeling energized, they burst forward in the 87th minute and while Bernardeschi played a nice one-two with Cristiano Ronaldo down the left, Senad Lulic pulled down Cancelo by his shoulder near the penalty spot. The incident was off the ball so it took the referee crew a bit to make a decision, but ultimately they awarded Juventus a penalty and Ronaldo made no mistake for the winner.
The victory restored Juventus’s 11-point lead at the top of the Serie A table. For Lazio, the defeat is a brutally difficult one to swallow given they were arguably the better side for a good 70 minutes of the match. The win would have pushed them all the way up to fifth in the table among a crowded Champions League race, just behind fourth-placed AC Milan on goal difference. Instead, they’re forced to remain back in eighth with Fiorentina, Torino, and Sassuolo all nipping at their heels.
