Lazio were again caught flat-footed as they fell in their third loss of the season away to Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus.
The Biancocelesti looked wildly inconsistent in the opening weeks of the campaign, suffering losses to Lecce and Genoa but picking up an unexpected away win over Scudetto holders Napoli.
Maurizio Sarri’s side went into the international break feeling some confidence after the win in Campania but soon plummeted back down to Earth after a disappointing and concerning showing in Turin.
It only took Juventus 10 minutes to take the lead over Lazio. A whipped cross from Manuel Locatelli was perfectly met by Dusan Vlahovic, who guided the ball past Ivan Provedel with his first touch to put the home side 1-0 up.
The Biancocelesti tried to foray forward after going behind but were unable to close the distance, allowing the Bianconeri to double their lead after 26 minutes. Some quick passing play from Allegri’s side allowed Federico Chiesa into space in the box, where he drilled the past into the Lazio net to make it 2-0.
In the second half, Lazio started to show some more positive signs and their efforts were rewarded in the 64th minute. Daichi Kamada caught Juventus in possession and laid the ball off to Luis Alberto, whose curling shot from outside the penalty area flew past Wojciech Szczesny, clawing one back for Sarri’s outfit.
Unfortunately for Lazio, it only took a few minutes for Juventus to put the game to bed, going 3-1 up after a hard-fought goal from Vlahovic. The Roman side could do little after this, allowing the Old Lady to secure all three points in Turin.
Lazio will need to dig deep to bounce back ahead of their Champions League opener against Atletico Madrid on September 19.
If the 4:3:3 won’t help let’s switch back to our 3:5:2…all pass no short. If Luis Alberto hadn’t made the short we would be down.