The Rossoneri, with the Blues Olivier Giroud and Théo Hernandez holders for the post-World Cup recovery two and a half weeks after the final lost against Argentina, have temporarily returned to five points behind the undefeated Neapolitan leader.

Sandro Tonali offered the first goal to a Rafael Leao in good shape (10th) before making the break just after in force (15th).

"Winning the title last year wasn't easy, defending it isn't easy either. But that's the goal we set ourselves," the Italian commented on DAZN. .

Despite his difficult start to the match, the Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, winter recruit of the Salernitana, did not miss his Italian baptism with many parades.

Giroud, essential in the absence of alternatives (Rebic, Origi and Ibrahimovic injured), notably stumbled three times on "Memo".

Kept afloat by the 37-year-old Mexican veteran, the Salernitana even cast doubt in the Milanese ranks by scoring on his only shot on target, late in the game, by Federico Bonazzoli (83rd).

Juventus followed the Milan rhythm by consolidating their third place to two points, thanks to a seventh consecutive victory without conceding.

On the field of the relegated Cremonese, the light came in extremis from a free kick from Arkadiusz Milik (90 + 1st), obtained after a foul on Adrien Rabiot whose entry into play (67th) changed the face of Juve.

The joy of Juventus players around Arkadiusz Milik (center), author of the only goal of the match against La Cremonese, on January 4, 2023 in Cremona © Marco BERTORELLO / AFP

Lazio goes out

The Cremonese would not have stolen a point after having done much better than resist.

The relegation player notably found the post of Wojciech Szczesny on a powerful strike from Cyriel Dessers (69th).

In "young" version at kick-off (Gatti, Miretti, Fagioli and Soulé holders) because of his many injuries (Vlahovic, Cuadrado, Bonucci, Pogba, Di Maria) and to spare certain players (Rabiot, Chiesa, Kean, Paredes, Alex Sandro), Juve gradually increased the pace when these luxury substitutes entered.

This success confirms the turnaround since October, a real breath of fresh air in the busy extra-sports context surrounding the "Old Lady" (resignation of President Andrea Agnelli, investigations into her accounts).

The Bianconeri widen the gap on Lazio (5th), beaten in Lecce (2-1).

The Laziali had however quickly opened the scoring by Ciro Immobile, author of his 189th goal in Serie A, notably overtaking the Turin legend Alesandro del Piero (188).

But Lecce (12th) revolted after the break to equalize on a recovery from Gabriel Strefezza (57th) then take the lead thanks to Lorenzo Colombo (71st).

"It's hard to explain. The team played 30 minutes at a high level, then the match changed and they died...", noted Maurizio Sarri, annoyed.

Lazio's misstep does the business of its Roman rival who hardly beat Bologna thanks to a penalty obtained by the Argentine world champion Paulo Dybala and converted by captain Lorenzo Pellegrini (6th).

Saved from the equalizer by Tammy Abraham in the dying seconds, Roma (6th) returned to six points behind AC Milan before going to challenge the Rossoneri on Sunday.

© 2023 AFP