Federico Chiesa dedicated Juventus' late victory over Udinese to Gianluca Vialli following the legendary former Bianconeri striker's death at the age of 58.
Vialli, who also played for Cremonese, Sampdoria and Chelsea, passed away in London on Friday.
He was originally diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2017 and, after announcing he had been given the all-clear in April 2020, he was re-diagnosed the following year.
Vialli played over 100 times for Juventus, with whom he won the Champions League, Serie A, Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana and the UEFA Cup across a four-season spell.
Juve paid tribute to Vialli with a minute's applause ahead of Saturday's 1-0 league win over Udinese and played footage of his greatest moments on the big screen at full-time.
Chiesa worked closely with Vialli during the latter's time working as Italy's assistant manager alongside Roberto Mancini, with the Azzurri's Euro 2020 triumph being the highlight.
After setting up Danilo's late winner against Udinese, second-half substitute Chiesa told DAZN: "Our first thoughts go to Gianluca Vialli.
"He was a wonderful person and I was so lucky to cross paths with him in my life, as he was a real champion, but above all a marvellous human being.
"At the Euros he really was like an extra player, he was on the pitch with us. We could talk for hours about what a great man he was. The victory is for him."
Thanks to their second late victory in a row to kick off 2023, Juventus have now won eight on the spin without conceding in Serie A for the first time since March 2018.
The Bianconeri have recovered from a slow start to the season to climb up to second and within four points of next opponents Napoli, who face Sampdoria on Sunday.
Despite closing the gap on the leaders, Allegri insists finishing in the top four remains the immediate target for his side.
"Napoli are still clearly the favourites to win the Scudetto," he said. "They have a big advantage, whereas we want to consolidate the top four.
"We're almost halfway through the season and are doing well. As I said, raising the bar means the performances rather than the results or targets.
"We have to take it one step at a time, focus on working and achieving the minimum objective, which is a top-four finish."
Juventus have now scored six goals after the 85th minute in Serie A this season, which is the most of any team.
Danilo's tap-in against Udinese came after Leandro Paredes played in fellow substitute Chiesa, who in turn laid the ball on a plate for his stand-in skipper.
"We were a bit too hasty at times with our crosses and passes," Allegri said. "We knew there could be difficulties, but that the game would improve as time wore on.
"We brought home the win late on because of good fitness levels and also mental strength.
"Technical skill is crucial, but if you don't have that desire to give that little bit extra and get there a few centimetres before your opponent, you don't win these games.”
Juve now have 12 clean sheets after their opening 17 Serie A games, a tally only Cagliari in the 1966-67 season (13) can better at this stage of a campaign.
"As the coach says, we have to keep raising the bar," Chiesa added. "Eight wins in a row isn't enough; we have to keep doing better."
Juventus reach Coppa Italia final despite losing on the night to Lazio
Arkadiusz Milik scored with his first touch as a substitute to send Juventus through to the Coppa Italia final.
Juve had seen their 2-0 lead over Lazio from the first leg wiped out by a double from Valentin Castellanos.
But Poland striker Milik found the net seconds after climbing off the bench as Juve were beaten 2-1 on the night but progressed 3-2 on aggregate.
Juve will face either Fiorentina or Atalanta in the final next month.
The visitors were first on the attack and Filip Kostic’s blocked shot ricocheted to the feet of Andrea Cambiaso, whose low drive flew inches wide.
But it was Lazio who took the lead on the night, and halved the deficit on aggregate, after 12 minutes.
Luis Alberto swung in a corner and Castellanos got up above Alex Sandro at the far post and buried his header past Mattia Perin.
The two goalscorers from the first leg, Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa, almost combined to equalise.
Chiesa teed up Vlahovic to prod home from close range but his effort was saved by Christos Mandas.
Juve midfielder Manuel Locatelli was dealt a personal blow when he was booked for a foul on Nicolo Casale which means he will miss the final.
Castellanos should have levelled the tie two minutes before half-time when he found himself one-on-one with Perin.
But the Juve keeper came out quickly and was able to make a fine save to preserve the lead.
However, the Argentinian made no mistake three minutes into the second half after he was played in by Luis Alberto.
Castellanos used his strength to burst between two defenders before tucking his finish past Perin.
Vlahovic was denied a goal by a stunning piece of last-ditch defending by Adam Marusic, who slid in to block as the striker looked certain to tap in Weston McKennie’s pull-back.
But Massimiliano Allegri’s substitutions had an immediate effect after Timothy Weah’s cross-shot was tapped in at the far post by Milic with seven minutes to go to send the 14-time winners through.
City boss Gareth Taylor gives injury update on star striker Khadija Shaw
Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor has offered an update on the injury that forced star striker Khadija Shaw off at half-time against West Ham on Sunday.
Shaw made a blistering start to the game and set City on their way to a 5-0 victory, scoring twice in the first 24 minutes as her team returned to the top of the Women's Super League table. However, she went down with a foot injury in the final seconds of that first half and was replaced by Chloe Kelly after being helped off the pitch by the team's medical staff.
Concern grew for Shaw when she appeared in a boot and with crutches during the second period. City are locked into a fierce title race with Chelsea, who are three points behind them but with a game in hand. To lose a player who has scored 21 goals in 18 league games this season would be a huge hit to their challenge.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Taylor said of Shaw's withdrawal: "We decided not to take the risk. It was touch and go as to whether she was going to come back on the pitch. We'll get a bit more of an assessment tomorrow. She's on crutches, which looks bad, but most of the players end up being offloaded in that situation. We'll just have to assess it. If it's more serious than we anticipate, then we'll deal with it. I thought Chloe Kelly came onto the pitch and did really well in that position, put them under a lot of pressure, created some good opportunities. We'll find out a little bit more over the next couple of days."
The Cityzens travel to bottom side Bristol City next weekend as they look to stay ahead in the title race but it is the fixture the week after that which fans will be desperate to have Shaw available for, as third-placed Arsenal come to town.
Nottingham Forest’s response to VAR controversy ‘too emotional’ – Stuart Broad
Former England bowler Stuart Broad has criticised Nottingham Forest’s response to the VAR controversy at Sunday’s Premier League match against Everton as “slightly too emotional”.
Broad, the second-highest England Test wicket-taker, was made a CBE for services to cricket during a ceremony at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, and is a long-time fan of the football club.
Following Forest’s 2-0 loss at Everton, the club risked Football Association and Premier League sanction over their extraordinary response to three rejected penalty appeals.
In a statement on Sunday, the club said there had been “three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept”, adding: “We warned the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game, but they didn’t change him.”
On Tuesday, it was announced that the club would be given the opportunity to privately hear the VAR audio connected to the three penalty claims.
When asked about his thoughts on the VAR incident, Broad said: “Obviously, there’s been some natural frustration from everyone at Nottingham Forest: owners, players, manager fans, supporters, my friendship group are frustrated.
“I think it’s not just from the weekend, I think the frustration is built over the season, to be honest, from the decisions that the club have had.
“I think the statement straight after the game was probably quite emotional and maybe slightly misaligned with how the club would normally operate.”
Referring to the club’s statement on X, formerly Twitter, in which they claimed VAR Stuart Attwell “was a Luton fan”, Broad said: “Personally, I think that’s got nothing to do with the decision-making. I think it was just poor decision-making.
He continued: “I don’t mind the club showing emotion and passion because ultimately, that’s what sport’s about, but I think some of the words were slightly too emotional.”
Broad, 37, announced he was retiring from cricket during the fifth Ashes Test last summer and bowed out in spectacular fashion.
He hit a six off his final ball and took the final wicket as England won the match to level the series, although Australia retained the urn.
He came second in the public vote for the BBC’s 2023 Sports Personality of the Year in December and has been focusing on fatherhood and television punditry.
After the ceremony he said retirement had been “scary” but that he wanted to continue to “stay connected” to the sport.
When asked what was next, Broad said: “I want to stay in the game.
“It’s a great hobby of mine, it’s probably something I know the most about in the world, in my world, so I want to be able to share that feedback, whether that’s coaching, whether that’s punditry and commentary that I enjoy.
“But stay connected to the game, you know, I love it.”
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