Juventus, Napoli keep clean slates

Milan: Champions Juventus and Napoli pulled clear at the summit of Serie ‘A’ as they continued their faultless campaigns on Wednesday as Inter Milan fell behind.

Croatia forward Mario Mandzukic scored for Juventus in a 1-0 win over old foes Fiorentina in Turin as Napoli rallied from a goal down to beat Lazio 4-1 in Rome.

Juventus and Napoli have a maximum 15 points after five games, two ahead of Inter Milan who were held 1-1 at Bologna on Tuesday.

Stefan de Vrij had given Lazio a half-time lead over Napoli, but the hosts hit back in the second half with three goals in a four-minute spree including a stunning Dries Mertens strike.

After a tense first half Mandzukic found the opening for Juventus with a diving header after 53 minutes off a Juan Cuadrado cross.

Fiorentina were reduced to 10 men for the final half an hour after midfielder Milan Badelj saw red.

“These games teach that to win you have to suffer, 1-0 is a good result,” said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri ahead of this weekend’s Turin derby.

Napoli routed Lazio in the second half despite Simone Inzaghi’s side having gotten off to a flying start with defender De Vrij opening the scoring after 29 minutes.

But injuries to defenders Bastos and then De Vrij turned the tide in favour of Napoli with three goals in the space of a frenetic four minutes.