Juventus have extended their Serie A winning streak to eight matches, scraping past Udinese 1-0 with a dramatic late clincher.
Massimiliano Allegri’s team have also not conceded a goal in their past eight matches despite being rocked by a bookkeeping scandal during the World Cup break when the club’s board of directors resigned en masse.
The win put Juve second in Serie A, a point above defending champions AC Milan, who hosted Roma on Sunday.
Inter Milan are fourth, three points behind Juventus, after being held 2-2 at Monza.
The Bianconeri are four points behind leaders Napoli, who visit Sampdoria on Sunday. The top two meet in Naples on Friday.
“There’s a good game waiting for us, but we have to take it one step at a time,” Allegri said.
“Today, what mattered was to win, to consolidate our position in the top four.
“Napoli is going at an infernal pace. We’ll keep a low profile. Seasons are decided in the last two months.”
There was a moving tribute to Gianluca Vialli before kickoff in Turin.
Vialli, whose death at the age of 58 was announced on Friday, helped Juventus to a Serie A title and the European Cup during a four-year stint.
“This is a win for him,” winger Federico Chiesa said.
The Juventus players wore black armbands, while there were many banners in the stands dedicated to Vialli as well as chants from the supporters.
Juventus eventually broke the deadlock with four minutes to go, following impressive play from Chiesa – who chested down a ball over the top before volleying across the face of the goal for Danilo to tap in from point-blank range.
Inter were full of confidence after beating Serie A leaders Napoli three days ago.
They took the lead in the 10th minute when Alessandro Bastoni whipped in a cross from the left for Matteo Darmian to bundle in.
But the Nerazzurri’s advantage lasted less than a minute before Patrick Ciurria curled into the bottom left corner for his first Serie A goal.
Inter restored their lead in the 22nd minute after a defensive mix-up allowed Lautaro Martinez to steal the ball and slot it into the bottom corner.
Luca Caldirola headed in the equalizer in added time.
Nicolas Gonzalez marked his comeback from a lengthy injury layoff by scoring a stoppage-time penalty to help Fiorentina beat Sassuolo 2-1.
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