Juventus win at Lazio against backdrop of support, dedication to earthquake victims: Serie A round-up

Juventus supporters show a banner reading "Close to the families hit by the earthquake" to honour the victims of Wednesday's earthquake that hit central Italy. Angelo Carconi / AP

ROME // Juventus won 1-0 at Lazio on Saturday in a Serie A match dedicated to the victims of the earthquake in central Italy.

Fans held aloft banners to mourn the nearly 300 people killed in Wednesday’s quake, and a minute of silence was observed before kickoff.

Also, Lazio’s shirts featured a message that read “Noi con voi” – “We’re with you” — including an image of the clock tower in the hardest-hit town of Amatrice.

Amatrice and other towns affected are in the Lazio region.

In the 66th minute, Sami Khedira took a pass from Paulo Dybala and angled his shot inside the far post as Lazio’s defence appeared distracted by prized Juventus signing Gonzalo Higuain, who came on a minute earlier.

• More: Liverpool, Tottenham draw in a feisty affair | PL Round-up

Khedira also scored in Juve’s season-opening 2-1 win over Fiorentina last weekend.

“It wasn’t easy to play in this heat against a Lazio side that was well organised,” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said. “In the first half, they closed off all the open spaces but in the second half we played well. We’ve started better than last year.”

Last season, Juventus lost its opening two matches.

In the day’s other match, Arkadiusz Milik and Jose Callejon each scored twice for Napoli in a 4-2 win over visiting AC Milan.

Poland forward Milik scored twice in the first half then M’Baye Niang and Suso drew Milan level after the break. Callejon got the decider in the 74th then added another in stoppage time.

Milan ended with nine men. Juraj Kucka was sent off for a hard foul followed by protests and Niang was shown red for contact with the goalkeeper.

In Rome, there was a two-minute heat timeout during the first half, with the temperature at 32 degrees (90F).

Higuain started on the bench for the second consecutive match since becoming the most expensive transfer in Italian football history at 90 million euros ($99 million), but again made an effect, this time merely with his presence.

Winger Marco Pjaca, another new Juventus player, also impressed when he came on for the final few minutes. Pjaca dribbled by a defender in stylish fashion before unleashing a powerful shot that went directly at goalkeeper Federico Marchetti.

Lazio’s first shot on goal didn’t come until an effort from Marco Parolo less than five minutes from the end.

In Naples, Milik scored his first following a rebound then headed in his second by redirecting a corner.

On the day he received his first call up to Italy’s national team, 17-year-old Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma prevented another early goal with a leaping one-handed save.

The French forward Niang dribbled by a defender and scored from a tight angle in the 51st then Spanish winger Suso found the target with a long, rising shot four minutes later.

Callejon put Napoli back in front by knocking in a rebound of a shot from Dries Mertens then closed it out when Milan defender Alessio Romagnoli swiped the ball back with his hand into Callejon’s path to avoid an own goal.

Romagnoli was shown a yellow card.

Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE

Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport