The in-form Dusan Vlahovic struck twice in the second half as Juventus moved to the top of Serie A with a 3-0 victory over Lecce.
Juventus were frustrated for much of the first half as they looked for their fifth successive victory in the league.
The away side had to wait until the hour mark before Vlahovic made his mark on the game. He quickly added another for his 11th goal of the campaign, and second successive brace, and Gleison Bremer’s late header added the icing on the cake to lift Juventus above Inter Milan at the summit.
Juventus could have opened the scoring in the first minute after Vlahovic got on the end of a cross but could not quite guide his first-time effort on target.
Lecce threatened five minutes in as Nikola Krstovic found himself in space on the edge of the area but shot just wide.
Juventus were next to go close in the 13th minute but Filip Kostic’s strike from just inside the area kept rising over the bar. Krstovic found himself with another chance but once again lifted an effort over the crossbar.
Juventus created the first chance of the second period when an inswinging corner found the head of Weston McKennie but he nodded straight at keeper Wladimiro Falcone, who was comfortably able to deal with the danger.
The away side were having a little more joy breaking down the Lecce defence in the second period and had another chance a couple of minutes later but Vlahovic guided his diving header just wide of the far post.
Juventus broke the deadlock on the hour mark when Andrea Cambiaso lifted the ball into the box and Vlahovic volleyed into the ground and into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
Juve doubled their advantage in the 68th minute as Kostic’s cross was lifted towards McKennie at the back post, who headed across for Vlahovic to tap home his second of the evening.
The visitors claimed their 16th win of the season and added a third goal in the 85th minute when Samuel Iling-Junior’s free-kick found Bremer, who bulleted a header past Falcone.
Fonseca urges Milan to take more risks after lifeless Juventus draw
Paulo Fonseca urged Milan to take more risks in future and sympathised with the fans who booed his players after an unexciting goalless draw with Juventus.
The two sides played out a game that included just three shots on target - one fell to Milan and two to Juve - while a chorus of boos greeted the full-time whistle.
Milan have not scored in two home matches in a row in Serie A for the first time since October-November 2023 (vs Juventus and Udinese in that case).
"When you don't win, and after a match like this, maybe if I was a fan I'd do the same," Fonseca told DAZN.
"I'm not a defender of this and I understand the fans perfectly."
Milan's only real chance before the break came through Emerson Royal, who headed wide of the near post after a corner, while a weak Theo Hernandez header straight at Michele Di Gregorio in added time was their only effort on target.
They registered just two shots in the first half, and only three times before have they managed less (on record from 2004-05), with two of those instances also coming against Juve.
"It was a very tactical match. The team had too much respect for Juve and Juve too much respect for us," Fonseca said.
"We know that Juve defend very well, it is not easy to have opportunities against them and those we had to attack we did not exploit well.
"We could have done something more offensively, we made a mistake in the last pass and we never took risks. It is not easy against Juve, but when we have the opportunity, we have to do better in the final decisions.
"The team always had the will to play safe but, if we want to score, we have to take more risks. Normally, we always create different situations. Today the team didn't take any offensive risks."
When asked if seventh-placed Milan - on 19 points with a game in hand - still stood a chance in the title battle, Fonseca responded affirmatively.
"It's difficult for other people, but I still believe. There are still many games and other teams can lose points," he said.
Motta 'satisfied' despite drab goalless draw at Milan
While Juventus' 0-0 draw with Milan offered little entertainment at San Siro, Thiago Motta was happy with his side's performance.
The scoreless draw brought little in the way of chances for either side but it allowed Juventus to maintain their unbeaten start to the season, where they have kept 10 clean sheets in 13 games.
Motta became just the fifth Juventus manager to not lose any of his first 13 matches on the Bianconeri bench in Serie A history (W6 D7) – after Jesse Carver, Cestmir Vycpalek, Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri.
The match only included three shots on target, with only one of those falling to Milan as they struggled to trouble their visitors.
"I am satisfied with the work we have done, especially defensively," Motta told DAZN.
"We didn't concede anything to the opponents; open play is their strong point, and we managed to block them."
Juve have drawn seven of their league games already this season but Motta was content to take another point considering the growing injury list he has to contend with.
Dusan Vlahovic missed the trip to Milan with a muscle problem picked up while on international duty and Juve were already without Arkadiusz Milik, Nicolas Gonzalez, Douglas Luiz, Juan Cabal and Bremer.
"This point can give continuity to us for our work. I'm proud of my players because in the situation we are in we put in a good performance," Motta added.
"I am satisfied with tonight's work and many things. So far we have to be happy, the path is the right one."
Correa 'showed what he can do' against Verona, says Inzaghi
Simone Inzaghi says Joaquin Correa "showed what he can do" as he inspired Inter to a 5-0 win at Verona on Saturday.
The Argentine made his first start of the season, scoring a goal, registering two assists and striking the woodwork twice, as he stepped in for the absent Lautaro Martinez and helped Inter move top of the table.
Each of Correa's three away goals for Inter in Serie A have come at the Bentegodi against Verona, while he both scored and assisted in a single Serie A match for only the second time, after July 2020, for Lazio against Brescia.
"Correa deserved this chance for how he's been working since June, he showed what he can do," Inzaghi told a press conference.
"I'm happy for him. In addition to being a great player, he's a good guy who continued with his work despite some mistrust."
Inter scored at least five goals in the first half of an away league game for only the second time in their history in Serie A, after their 5-1 win against Sampdoria in the first 45 minutes of play back in March 1964.
Last season, Correa was sent on a one-year loan to Marseille and was expected to leave Inter for good as the French club had an option to buy the player.
Upon his return, the 30-year-old made three appearances in the first 12 league games, entering from the bench at Monza, Udinese and Roma before he was selected to pair up with Marcus Thuram from the start against Verona.
Correa opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a chipped finish after a precise pass from Thuram. He then returned the favour and teed the Frenchman up to double the lead in the 22nd, before setting up Yann Bisseck for the fifth before the break.
"It wasn't difficult because my team-mates helped me and were happy when I scored," Correa said.
"I wanted to do the back heel for Bisseck, but there was also a bit of luck. There are a lot of good guys here, we have to continue like this."
Inter next host RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday, and they may still be without Martinez, who fell sick when he returned from international duty.
"We need to see how the virus evolves," Inzaghi said. "Last night he had chills and this morning he had a fever of almost 38 degrees.
"I had [the same virus] too, skipping training on Monday and Tuesday. In any case, he would have been [resting] on the bench today even if he had been here. We'll see."
Martinez scored in both of Argentina's World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay (2-1) and Peru (1-0).
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