Vlahović stars as Juventus wins 2-0 ahead of Rome derby

MILAN (AP) — Dušan Vlahović set up one goal and scored another as Juventus eased to a 2-0 win over bottom club Salernitana in the Italian league on Sunday to move within a point of defending champion Inter Milan.

Paulo Dybala marked his return to the starting lineup following injury by scoring the opener as fourth-place Juventus closed in on the top three, although Massimiliano Allegri’s side is still seven points behind Serie A leader AC Milan.

Juventus plays third-place Inter – the club that ended its run of nine straight Serie A titles — after the international break.

Salernitana remained nine points from safety.

The Rome derby later Sunday is a contest for Europa League positioning, with Lazio fifth and Roma seventh. Lazio won the opening derby this season.

Juventus was anxious to move on from its Champions League exit against Villarreal midweek and was on a 15-match unbeaten run in the league.

It took the Bianconeri less than five minutes to break the deadlock as Vlahović latched onto Juan Cuadrado’s cross and sent a clever ball through to Dybala, who drilled in from a tight angle.

A lively Dybala had several chances to double his tally but chipped one over the bar when clear on goal and was also denied by a flying, one-handed save from Salernitana goalkeeper Luigi Sepe.

Juventus doubled its lead in the 29th minute thanks to a towering header from Vlahović on Mattia De Sciglio’s cross.

The Bianconeri sat back on their lead in the second half and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny had to make a couple of impressive saves.

MISTAKES

Two first-half mistakes gifted Francesco Caputo two goals as Venezia lost 2-0 in a relegation fight against Sampdoria.

The first came in the 24th minute when Venezia goalkeeper Niki Mäenpää took too many touches in his own penalty area and Abdelhamid Sabiri stole the ball off him, allowing Caputo to deposit into an empty net.

It was the fault of Venezia midfielder Luca Fiordilino 14 minutes later as he lost the ball easily to Sabiri. Mäenpää could only parry Stefano Sensi’s strike and Caputo tapped in the rebound.

Venezia remained three points from safety while Sampdoria climbed seven points above the bottom three.

Hellas Verona drew 1-1 at Empoli after striker Giovanni Simeone failed twice with the same penalty. His first attempt was saved by Empoli goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario but had to be retaken following an encroachment. Simeone smashed his second effort off the upright.

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