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Morata spearheads Juve fightback against Lazio to close gap at top
MILAN, March 7, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Alvaro Morata scored twice and set up
another as Juventus warmed up for next week’s Champions League game against
Porto with a 3-1 comeback win over Lazio on Saturday to close the gap on the
Milan teams in Serie A.
Cristiano Ronaldo started on the bench before next week’s key last 16,
second leg game against the Portuguese in Turin with Juventus trailing 2-1.
Champions Juventus fell behind to an early Joaquin Correa goal following a
Dejan Kulusevski passing error midfield.
But Morata set up Adrien Rabiot to pull the hosts level before the break
with the Spaniard scoring twice in a three-minute spell before the hour mark.
Andrea Pirlo’s side are third, seven points behind leaders Inter who host
Atalanta on Monday, and one point adrift of AC Milan who play Hellas Verona
on Sunday.
“Today we started the game 20 minutes late but it was normal because many
were out of position and many returned (from injury),” said Pirlo.
“But there was a great reaction, we didn’t get down and despite the many
absences we played an excellent match.
“For us it was a final, an important match for the standings and we’re
happy.”
Paulo Dybala remains out injured along with defender Giorgio Chiellini and
midfielder Matthijs de Ligt, while Rodrigo Bentancur positive for
coronavirus.
But Juan Cuadrado started after missing three league games with Arthur and
Leonardo Bonucci also returning off the bench in the second half.
Morata started up front alongside Kulusevski, with Ciro Immobile leading
the Lazio attack alongside Correa.
And the Argentine pounced after quarter of an hour after Kulusevski gave
the ball away, shaking off Merih Demiral to beat Wojciech Szczesny in the
Juventus goal.
Szczesny denied Luis Alberto a second eight minutes later.
Rabiot pulled a goal back six minutes before the break, picking up a Morata
through ball to fire in a powerful left footed angled drive over Pepe Reina.
– Immobile draws a blank –
Both sides had chances after the break with Reina denying Federico Chiesa,
Szczesny clearing from Correa and a Sergej Milinkovic-Savic header rattling
the bar.
Chiesa set up Morata for the second after 57 minutes with the Spaniard
completing a brace from the penalty spot three minutes later after
Milinkovic-Savic brought down Aaron Ramsey in the box.
Morata made way for Ronaldo for the last 20 minutes with Arthur and Weston
McKennie also coming off the bench in place of Ramsey and Cuadrado with
Bonucci coming on for the final eight minutes.
Lazio’s top striker Immobile threatened but was unable to add to his 14
goals this campaign, drawing a blank for a fourth straight game as the Romans
fell to their third defeat in four matches.
“It’s a defeat that hurts,” said Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi whose side’s
hopes of Champions League football next season took a knock as they sit
seventh, six points adrift of Atalanta in fourth place.
“We compromised the game alone, giving away an avoidable penalty. We made
some mistakes and at Juventus, with some mistakes you don’t win.”
Sassuolo’s Europa League hopes further dwindled with a 2-0 loss at midtable
rivals Udinese stretching their winless run to three games.
Spanish forward Fernando Llorente scored his first goal for Udinese just
before the break with Argentine Roberto Pereyra firing in a second deep into
injury time.
Sassuolo, in ninth, have won just two of 11 league games played since after
Christmas. Udinese are four points behind in 10th place.
Spezia snatched a 1-1 draw at home against Benevento, in a match between
promoted sides vying to stay in the top flight next season.
BSS/AFP/BZC/1400HRS