Di María helps Juventus win with Spezial strike
Having recorded two consecutive SA ‘wins to nil’ coming into the contest, the visitors looked sharp in the early exchanges, with Dušan Vlahović seeing a well-taken strike disallowed for a marginal offside. After a one-sided opening half-hour, Juventus continued to assert their authority on proceedings, and deservedly took the lead in the 32nd minute, when an inviting delivery from Filip Kostić was expertly finished by Moise Kean for his fifth league goal of the campaign.
With caretaker boss Fabrizio Lorieri in charge following Luca Gotti’s dismissal in midweek, Spezia responded with a spirited display before HT. Eldor Shomurodov twice came close with headers inside the six-yard box, before Daniele Verde fizzed a dangerous ball across the face of goal which narrowly evaded a decisive touch.
The hosts carried their momentum into the early stages of the second half, but wasteful finishing from Emmanuel Gyasi and Verde continued to frustrate the home support. This frustration soon turned to despair for Spezia, as Ángel Di María came off the bench and fired a long-range strike into the bottom-right corner to double Juventus’ advantage.
Despite facing a two-goal deficit, Spezia refused to throw in the towel going into the final 20 minutes, but Mattia Perin stood firm in the Juventus goal to thwart a powerful effort from Gyasi. This was as close as the hosts would get to a late consolation, as the visitors comfortably saw out the closing exchanges to clinch a hard-earned three points. The result sees Juventus rise four places to 7th in the table, while Spezia remain two points above the relegation zone, after a fifth SA match without victory.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Filip Kostić (Juventus)
