Serie A: Lazio 0-2 Juventus

Italian football returned from the international break today, and the Saturday evening game took place in Rome, where Lazio hosted Juventus. Both had won their first two games and were looking to preserve their perfect starts.

Juventus made most of the early running but the Biancocelesti started to find their feet halfway through the first half. Gianluigi Buffon had to be at his best to parry Aleksandar Kolarov's drive after a glittering run from the Serb.

On the half hour Roberto Baronio hit a low, curling free kick from the edge of the area which again had the Juventus goalkeeper scrambling, but Buffon managed to cover the angle as the ball was about to strike the post.

Juventus continued to enjoy a good deal of possession but the creative edge was with Lazio for much of the first half.

They thought they'd opened the scoring in first half stoppage time when a goalmouth scramble resulted in Stefano Mauri slamming the ball home. But the goal was disallowed for an apparent foul on Nicola Legrottaglie.

Juventus almost took the lead seven minutes into the second half. Sebastian Giovinco, on at the end of the first period for the injured Diego, took a quick free kick to Fabio Grosso. Grosso flashed the ball right across the face of goal and striker Amauri's headlong dive was just inches away from the ball.

But Lazio picked up the second half where they'd left the first, producing the more incisive attacks while the Bianconeri struggled to find the killer pass.

Julio Cruz missed a great chance for Lazio with a little over 20 minutes remaining, getting himself ahead of his marker but unable to apply the right touch to lift the ball over the advancing Buffon.

And just as you started to get the impression Juventus might fluke it (and I have the tweets to prove it), Martin Cáceres, the Uruguayan debutant on loan from Barcelona, pounced on a loose ball in the 71st minute and thumped a lovely volley into the bottom corner to put them ahead.

The Bianconeri's lead was somewhat undeserved, but Lazio's failure to capitalise on their chances invited heartbreak.

And all of a sudden, Lazio were toothless. Only a Cruz shot troubled Buffon's gloves as the clock wound down and the Biancocelesti never looked like scoring an equaliser. Predictably it was Juventus who earned a second goal. A cross from Giovinco to Amauri in stoppage time went loose and David Trézéguet fired home off stricken Lazio stopper Fernando Muslera.

Defeat was a little harsh on Lazio, who had much the better of the first half and contributed to an even second. But Juventus created few clear chances and found the net with two of them, and failure to do the same means Lazio didn't deserve to win any more than they deserved to lose.