adminTURIN. — Paulo Dybala scored within the first minute as Juventus beat Cagliari 3-1 to maintain their six-point cushion in the Italian Serie A on Saturday ahead of Inter Milan and Napoli who both won their matches by five goals.
Dybala scored his second Serie A goal of the season after just 44 seconds, with a Filip Bradaric own-goal accounting for Juventus’ second after 39 minutes, two minutes after Joao Pedro had pulled the Sardinians level.
Cristiano Ronaldo failed to add to his seven-goal league league tally with the Portuguese star hitting the woodwork before this week’s Champions League visit by former club Manchester United.
But the Portuguese superstar’s pass across goal set up Colombian Juan Cuadrado for his first of the season three minutes from time in the Allianz Stadium.
Earlier Inter Milan crushed Genoa 5-0 to reclaim second spot on goal difference ahead of Napoli, who had eased past Empoli 5-1 on Friday, and keep the pressure on the seven-time reigning champions.
Juventus have 31 points from 11 games with Inter and Napoli both on 25 points.
It is the best start to a season for the Turin giants who have drawn just one game against Genoa.
“You can’t lower your guard for a minute, because everyone wants a result against us,” said Cuadrado.
The wins were a boost for the top three before next week’s Champions League fixtures with Inter Milan at home against Barcelona and Napoli hosting Paris Saint-Germain.
Eusebio Di Francesco’s AS Roma needed a late Alessandro Florenzi volley to snatch a 1-1 draw at Fiorentina ahead of their midweek trip to CSKA Moscow. — AFP
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