Juventus beat Roma to end 2018 with eight-point lead

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Juventus maintained their record-breaking start to the Serie A season with a 1-0 win over Roma that ensured they will go into the winter break on top of the table.

Mario Mandzukic struck a first-half winner to hand Juve their 16th win in 17 games, restoring their eight-point advantage over second-placed Napoli with two rounds to go before the halfway point of the season.

A 1-1 draw with Genoa in October is the only blot on Juventus's otherwise perfect record, which is the best start that has ever been made to a Serie A season and one that has only been matched in Europe's top five leagues by Barcelona in 2012-13 and Manchester City in 2017-18.

A trademark back-post header from Mandzukic opened the scoring on 35 minutes, as the Croatia international rose above Davide Santon to power the ball into the net.

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo argues with the referee during their league game against Roma on December 22. /VCG Photo

Roma goalkeeper Robin Olsen made a string of saves to keep his side in the game, twice denying Cristiano Ronaldo in quick succession in the second half.

However, the capital club rarely threatened to find an equalizer and substitute Douglas Costa thought he had sealed the points for Juventus with his close-range finish in stoppage time, only for the goal to be disallowed for a foul in the build-up following a pitch-side VAR review.

Juventus sit on the summit of the table with 49 points from a possible 51, eight points clear of Napoli on 41, while the defeat sees Roma drop to 10th place and continues a poor run of form for Eusebio Di Francesco's side.

Roma have won just one of their last seven games and Saturday's defeat marked their eighth consecutive loss at the Juventus Stadium in Turin.

Napoli players celebrate with fans at the end of their league clash with Spal at Stadio San Paolo on December 22. /VCG Photo

Napoli are way behind Juve but consolidated second place when Raul Albiol headed his first goal of the season from a Dries Mertens corner against to beat struggling SPAL.

"Thinking of Juventus is likely to demotivate us," said coach Carlo Ancelotti.

"We have to think about ourselves because this team can do more, we have room for improvement and I say it after today's match, which was not amazing."

Inter stumble

Inter Milan were held 1-1 at bottom club Chievo to fall eight points behind Napoli, with the two clubs going head to head in the San Siro on December 26.

Inter looked set for victory when Ivan Perisic scored the opener six minutes before the break, but the evergreen Sergio Pellissier, 39, gave his side an early Christmas present when he lobbed Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic a minute into injury time.

Sergio Pellissier of Chievo Verona attempts an overhead kick during their match against Inter at Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi on December 22. /VCG Photo

The pressure is on Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso after Federico Chiesa's second-half scorcher pushed AC Milan out of the Champions League places at the expense of Lazio.

"There's no use looking at who's to blame. The team is going through a bad moment," said Gattuso, whose side have taken just two points from their last three games and crashed out of the Europa League.

Gattuso's side are a point behind Simone Inzaghi's outfit, who ended their five-match winless league run with a 3-1 success over Cagliari in Rome that saw Sergej Milinkovic-Savic score his first goal in three months.

AC Milan's Samuel Castillejo reacts to a missed chance during their league match against Fiorentina at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on December 22. /VCG Photo

Fiorentina meanwhile move up to seventh, just three points off the top four places after achieving back-to-back wins for just the second time this season.

Krzysztof Piatek extended his lead at the top of the Serie A scoring charts when he scored his 13th goal of the season in Genoa's 3-1 win over Atalanta, the Polish striker moving two ahead of Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo after sealing the points two minutes from the end.

City rival Sampdoria's fellow on-fire striker Fabio Quagliarella scored his eighth goal in seven league games as the Genoa club beat Empoli 4-2, taking his tally for this season to 10.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters