Lazio 1-0 Juventus: Late Marusic header earns narrow win for hosts
On Saturday, Lazio defender Adam Marusic scored in stoppage time to secure a 1-0 home win over third-placed Juventus in Serie A, condemning Massimiliano Allegri's visitors to a fourth game without a win in his 500th match in the Italian top flight.
Juve, who drew with Atalanta and Genoa in their previous two league games, have won only one of their last nine games and earned seven points during that time.
They have 59 points after 30 games, three behind AC Milan and 17 behind Inter Milan, both with a game in hand.
"The first half hour they put a lot of pressure, then we had a few chances but we have to be more ruthless," Allegri told DAZN. "You also can't concede goals with 10 seconds to go. But it's more the disappointment of the defeat."
Lazio, who won only their fourth game against Juventus in the previous 20 Serie A seasons, climbed to seventh place with 46 points. They defeated Juventus in consecutive home league games for the first time since 2001.
Montenegrin Marusic nodded home a perfect lofted pass from substitute Matteo Guendouzi for Lazio, who showed more intent in their first game under new manager Igor Tudor, who took over last week following Maurizio Sarri's departure.
Juve improved throughout the first half, and Federico Chiesa had a chance to score just before halftime when he aimed at the bottom far corner, but Lazio goalkeeper Christos Mandas saved his low shot in the 41st minute.
Mandas denied the Italian striker again two minutes later, this time saving his shot from the edge of the box.
Juve, without suspended top scorer Dusan Vlahovic (15 goals) and injured striker Arkadiusz Milik, maintained their momentum after halftime but failed to create any clear opportunities.
That prompted former Juventus defender Tudor to change Lazio's entire attack before the hour mark, replacing Valentin Castellanos and Pedro with Ciro Immobile and Gustav Isaksen.
Matias Vecino and Luis Alberto had late chances to win the game for Lazio, but Marusic sealed the victory in the final action.
"I scored after two years, in front of our fans. I want to thank them for coming in large numbers, I hope it will be like this until the end," Marusic said.
"We worked well, we entered the field with desire from the first minute to bring the result home and we found the goal at the end."
The two teams will meet again on Tuesday, when Juventus host Lazio in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
SportsLigue