Juventus 1-0 Lecce: Arkadiusz Milik strike proves decisive for Max Allegri’s side as they close gap to Inter in Serie A

Arkadiusz Milik poached the winner as Juventus bounced back from their shock defeat at Sassuolo with a 1-0 victory over a previously unbeaten Lecce at the Allianz Arena.

Massimiliano Allegri’s Bianconeri had to be patient as they struggled to carve out clear-cut chances with Federico Chiesa flashing the only one of note inches wide in what proved to be a forgettable first half.

The pattern continued following the interval, but the hosts made the breakthrough on 57 minutes when Milik stabbed in his first goal of the campaign from close range.

Lecce offered little as an attacking force and never looked like finding the equaliser to avoid their first Serie A loss of the campaign. Their woes were compounded late on when Mohamed Kaba was sent off having received a second yellow card for simulation.

The result sees The Old Lady climb to second spot in the Serie A table, two points behind leaders Inter Milan having played a game more. Lecce fall from third to fourth with the majority of the round six matches to come on Wednesday.

Next up, Juventus travel to Atalanta on Sunday while Lecce host champions Napoli on Saturday.

Coming into this clash, Allegri had tried to suggest there needed to be more realism in terms of what the Old Lady can achieve this season. The Juve boss claimed a top-four finish and a return to the Champions League would be a good achievement for his team and on the evidence of this laboured performance, he may be right, but in terms of results the club have made a strong start if you put the Sassuolo aberration to one side.

Juve may not be the force they once were but six matches in they look capable of sparring with most of the other sides who will regard themselves as potential Scudetto winners.

The Pole was peripheral at times but was usually involved in Juventus’ best moments. Came up with the goods with a close-range finish to get off the mark in Serie A for 23-24 and help his team get back to winning ways.

JUVENTUS: Szczesny 6, Rugani 7, Bremer 7, Danilo 7, McKennie 7, Fagioli 7, Locatelli 6, Rabiot 6, Cambiaso 6, Milik 7, Chiesa 7. Subs: Kostic 6, Gatti 6, Vlahovic 5, Miretti n/a, Weah n/a.

LECCE: Falcone 6, Venuti 6, Pongracic 7, Baschirotto 7, Dorgu 7, Blin 6, Ramadani 6, Oudin 6, Almqvist 6, Krstovic 6, Strefezza 6. Subs: Rafai 6, Sansone 6, Gendrey 6, Kaba 4, Piccoli n/a.

27’ – JUVENTUS CHANCE! Chiesa darts on to Danilo’s delicious through pass but rifles an inch wide of the far post from the left side of the box.

57’ – GOAL! – Juventus 1-0 Lecce. Milik makes the breakthrough as he scrambles in at the far post after McKennie’s clipped ball was headed back across goal.

Since the start of last season (2022-23), no Serie A midfielder has been directly involved in more goals than Adrien Rabiot (19, 12 goals and 7 assists) considering all competitions.