MILAN: Juventus put aside their off-the-field problems as the Bianconeri beat relegation-threatened Genoa 2-0 in Serie A on Sunday but coach Massimiliano Allegri had a touchline spat with one of his own players.

Juan Cuadrado and Paulo Dybala scored at either end of the match for Juve’s fourth win in five league games.

That sent Allegri’s side to fifth place, seven points behind Atalanta in fourth and the final Champions League berth. They are above Fiorentina on goal difference after Vincenzo Italiano’s side won 3-2 at Bologna.

Allegri had insisted before the match that he and his players were not being distracted by Juve being investigated for alleged false accounting.

And Juve got off to the perfect start as it took the lead in the seventh minute when Cuadrado struck direct from a corner that sailed over the head of Genoa goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu.

The Bianconeri had plenty of chances but it took them until eight minutes from time to extend their advantage mainly because of some brilliant saves from Sirigu. The goal came when Dybala fired home a through ball from Federico Bernardeschi.

Tempers had threatened to boil over earlier and almost did so when Alvaro Morata was substituted seconds after getting a booking and was shouted at by Allegri on the touchline.

Genoa have won once in 16 games this term, picking up just one point in four outings since the appointment of former Ukraine and Milan star Andriy Shevchenko.

The league’s joint-top scorer Dusan Vlahovic scored the winner from the penalty spot in Fiorentina’s victory at Bologna.

Vlahovic’s 13th goal of the campaign saw the Tuscany side end a run of four consecutive defeats on the road.

Fiorentina’s Youssef Maleh opened the scoring with a header after half an hour at the Stadio Dall’Ara for his first Serie A goal.

Musa Barrow pulled a goal back for Bologna before the break but a Cristiano Biraghi free-kick six minutes after the interval restored the visitors’ advantage.

Vlahovic added the third from the penalty spot after 67 minutes to seal all three points as Aaron Hickey grabbed a late goal for Bologna.

Ciro Immobile is level with the 21-year-old Vlahovic at the top of the Serie A scorers chart after he grabbed a pair of goals in Lazio’s 3-1 victory at Sampdoria.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic swept Lazio ahead on seven minutes before Immobile squeezed in a scrappy second. The Italy forward scored again before the break but Milinkovic-Savic was sent off in the second half and Manolo Gabbiadini netted a consolation for Sampdoria.

Lazio moved level with city rivals AS Roma, nine points behind Atalanta.

Gianluca Raspadori struck twice as Sassuolo salvaged a 2-2 draw at Spezia, while Giovanni Simeone’s double capped a stunning turnaround for Hellas Verona as they came from three goals down to win 4-3 at Venezia.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2021