Verona's in-form Simeone condemns Juve to another loss

Milan (AFP) – Giovanni Simeone struck twice as Verona beat Juventus 2-1 in Serie A on Saturday to hand Massimiliano’s struggling team a second loss in four days.

Simeone, the son of Atletico Madrid coach Diego, put Verona ahead when he turned in a rebound at the Stadio Bentegodi on 11 minutes.

The Argentine added a quick-fire second with a sublime curling effort from 20 metres, giving him six goals in his past two starts having scored four times against Lazio last weekend.

Paulo Dybala hit the crossbar just before half-time for a Juve side missing the injured Federico Chiesa, but the visitors pulled a goal back with 10 minutes left when Weston McKennie powered in his second in as many games.

Verona goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo produced a brilliant stop to deny Paulo Dybala an equaliser in the final minute.

After recovering from a dreadful start to the season with four straight wins, Juve have picked up just one point from three matches and sit ninth, 13 points behind Napoli and AC Milan at the top.

Verona have won all four home games since the appointment of former Juve assistant Igor Tudor in mid-September. The ex-Croatia international served as deputy to Andrea Pirlo in Turin last season.

Atalanta scored in added time at the end of each half to salvage a 2-2 home draw against Lazio that prevented either team clambering into the top four.

Duvan Zapata scored with the last kick of the first half to cancel out an early goal by Pedro.

Then Marten de Roon struck in the fourth minute of second-half added time to level after Ciro Immobile had scored a goal that made him Lazio’s joint all-time leading scorer.

After the opening game of the weekend, Atalanta stayed fifth, level on points with fourth-placed Roma. Lazio remained sixth, a point behind.

Pedro gave the visitors the lead in the 18th minute when he drove in a rebound from a close-range shot by Immobile.

At the end of the half, Zapata shrugged off Adam Marusic and powered in a shot that Pepe Reina reached but could not save.

In the 74th minute, substitute Toma Basic found Immobile in the middle of the box and the striker put the ball over the diving Juan Musso.

It was Immobile’s league-leading ninth goal of the season and also the 31-year-old’s 159th for Lazio, who he joined from Sevilla in 2016. 

That puts him level with World Cup-winning striker Silvio Piola who played for the club from 1934-43 before finishing World War II at Torino and ending his 25-year career at Juventus and Novara.