Juventus beats 10-man Lazio to move top of Napoli

Juventus beat 10-man Lazio 1-0 on Saturday to move level on points with Serie A leaders Napoli, while AC Milan beat Udinese by the same score after playing for more than an hour with 10 players . Mario Gila's own goal with five minutes remaining gave Juve victory in Turin, a blow to Lazio, who acquitted themselves well after Alessio Romagnoli was sent off in the 24th minute. Thiago Motta's Juve looked to be dominating when Romagnoli was shown a straight red card for fouling Pierre Kalulu as he raced towards goal.

But Lazio had little trouble stopping Juve's uninspired attack, having to rely on Gila to head Juan Cabal's low cross into his own goal to take the three points.

“It was a tough match against a good team,” Motta said.

“It's our first win at home (in the league) since August and it was deserved.”

Lazio, fifth, were angry at Douglas Luiz not being sent off for punching Patrick, an offense that apparently was not spotted by VAR officials.

Sports director Angelo Mariano Fabiani said, “This is violent conduct and it should have been a red card. I don't understand why it was not sanctioned. We feel we are being deceived.”

Juve has a better goal difference than Napoli, but are behind their rivals coached by Antonio Conte, having played a game more.

Napoli can ensure they remain at the top with a win at Empoli in Sunday's lunchtime match, while champions Inter Milan, who are two points behind their local rivals Milan, are at Roma.

struggling with matching

It looked like Samuel Chukwueze's 13th-minute goal would seal a comfortable victory for Milan, but it turned out to be the winning goal as the seven-time European champions kept the points.

Tijjani Rijnders' task was made difficult when he was sent off in the 29th minute for a clumsy foul on Sandi Lovrik, who might have scored if the Netherlands midfielder had not cut his heel.

Paulo Fonseca said, “It was two matches in one. The first match ended after half an hour, 30 minutes of character, quality and the kind of play I wanted.”

The Portuguese faced questions about poor discipline in the dressing room, especially among star players such as the suspended Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao, who was left on the bench for the entire match.

“It was all about team spirit after the departure,” he said.

“If anyone doubted that we are a united team then today is a demonstration that we are united.”

The hosts were shocked when Christian Kabasele scored for Udinese in the fifth minute of stoppage time, but a huge roar echoed around the ground when, after a lengthy VAR check, Jürgen Ekkelenkamp's toes were ruled out. Goal ruled out for offside. Offside.

extreme opposition

Milan's victory came in front of a flat San Siro, after which Milan's staunch “ultra” supporters decided to stand in silence for most of the match in protest of law enforcement and the Italian media campaign against them.

Key militants of both Milan and local rivals Inter were arrested last month and charged with a range of crimes from criminal conspiracy and extortion to assault.

Earlier this week, Milan's militant groups denied allegations by investigators of any involvement in ticket brokering, control of parking and sales from concession stands near San Siro.

Meanwhile, the police banned the militants from moving around the large “Curve Sud Milano” section, causing not only the militants but their supporters throughout the stadium to leave their banners and flags at home.

Instead fans in the Curva Sud held a banner in support of their arrested colleagues, reading “Stay strong boys”.