Juventus maintained their unbeaten start to the Serie A season with a 2-0 win over Spezia at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Leading from the opening stages, Juventus flattered to deceive but were rarely threatened after Dusan Vlahovic had put them ahead, before Arkadiusz Milik stepped off the bench to wrap up the victory in stoppage time.
Vlahovic’s freekick threat
The Bianconeri were fired into an early lead when striker Vlahovic drilled in a magnificent freekick after only eight minutes, in a carbon copy of his effort against AS Roma last time out.
It was a rare moment of brilliance in an unconvincing performance for Juventus, as they moved two points behind leaders AS Roma in the Serie A table.
Spezia weren’t without chances of their own and Gleison Bremer was required to perform a last ditch sliding clearance to keep Juventus ahead shortly before half time.
Juventus looked to have doubled their tally midway through the second half when Vlahovic met a corner to power a header on goal, but he was denied by Bartlomiej Dragowski on the line, with the ball not quite travelling far enough.
Meanwhile, defender Danilo came close with a bursting run and driving shot the whistled inches over the crossbar.
As the match headed into stoppage time, Juventus made sure of the points as substitute Milik spun in the box and fired beyond fellow Pole Dragowski for his first goal in a Bianconeri shirt.
Injury concern for Szczesny and Juventus
With injuries to Angel Di Maria and Paul Pogba recently, and Federico Chiesa still on the way back from a long-term injury, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri could have done without another headache.
However, the coach was concerned to see goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny withdrawn before the interval after landing awkwardly when leaping up to attempt to catch a cross.
The Poland international was taken off for Mattia Perin and whilst the ex-Genoa man is an able deputy, Juventus cannot afford to see more of the stalwarts being ruled out as they seek a first Scudetto in three seasons.
