Juventus beat Lecce thanks to Milik's help

Juve went into the game chastened by Saturday's shambolic 4-2 loss, their first of the season. An error-strewn performance reached its nadir with Federico Gatti's stoppage-time own goal when he volleyed the ball into his own net. They had Arkadiusz Milik's 57th-minute goal to thank for drawing a line under that reverse, the win lifting coach Massimiliano Allegri's side provisionally up to second, two points behind leaders Inter Milan.

Milik, selected to play over Dusan Vlahovic, earned Juve their fourth win from six outings when knocking in Adrien Rabiot's header. AC Milan are in third with Lecce, who finished a man down after Mohamed Kaba's injury-time red card, fourth.

Despite the three points, the whistles that followed the Juve players into the dressing room at half-time from their fans and the lukewarm applause at the end suggests Juventus have some way to go to earn the admiration of their supporters. On Wednesday Inter will hope to extend their perfect start against Sassuolo with AC Milan travelling to Cagliari without their injured goalkeeper Mike Maignan. Champions Napoli, seven points off the top in seventh, welcome Udinese.

 

September 26, 2023