MILAN: Second-half substitute Dusan Vlahovic scored a late winner to give Juventus a 2-1 win over Frosinone in Serie A on Saturday, reducing Inter Milan’s lead at the top of the table to a single point.
Unbeaten in their last 12 matches, Juventus now have 40 points from 17 games. Inter, who are a point ahead, play Lecce later on Saturday.
Juve took the lead when their early pressure on Frosinone saw goalkeeper Stefano Turati fluff his clearance as the ball fell to midfielder Filip Kostic, who found Turkey international Kenan Yildiz ahead of him.
The 18-year-old, making his first start for Juve, cut through three defenders to fire in at the near post with an impeccably timed finish in the 12th minute.
“I have confidence in myself and I did things as usual,” Yildiz said.
“They (his team mates) told me I have to buy dinner. We are a group, we fight for the fans and hope to finish the season in first place.”
But Juve lost their advantage six minutes into the second half when Jaime Baez, who replaced an injured Pol Lirola, chased Ilario Monterisi’s lofted through ball and fired past onrushing keeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Frosinone were on the verge of another big result after Tuesday’s 4-0 Italian Cup win at Italian champions Napoli, but were undone in the 81st minute when Juve’s Vlahovic rose above the defence to head home Weston McKennie’s cross.
The Serbian striker found the net again in the 89th minute but VAR chalked it off for offside. However, Juve held on to seal the three points and leave Frosinone 14th in the standings.
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