(Reuters) -A lacklustre Juventus needed Moise Kean’s second-half goal to secure a 1-0 win at Hellas Verona in Serie A on Thursday as they struggled to create clearcut chances.
The hosts started aggressively, with Ibrahim Sulemana’s shot from outside the box after three minutes going just wide of the target.
Verona were again dangerous in the 17th minute when Yayah Kallon’s cross went into the box but Danilo saved the situation with a well-timed clearance.
Manuel Locatelli was close to giving Juventus the lead seven minutes before halftime when he curled a shot from outside the box, forcing keeper Lorenzo Montipo into a save.
Italy striker Kean struck on the hour mark when he ran into the box and Montipo smothered his shot but could not stop it from tickling into the net.
“Kean doesn’t have the technique of the others, but he is a player who can be very important. I am happy above all with the improvement in his attitude and mentality compared to previous seasons, but he was born in 2000 and remains a kid,” Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri told Sky Sport Italia.
“It certainly wasn’t a great performance, but we know that against these teams who are very aggressive, we have to take a different approach,”
The visitors had a scare five minutes from time when Verona were awarded a penalty after a high boot from Leonardo Bonucci, but the decision was changed after a VAR check.
Juve’s Alex Sandro was sent off with a straight red two minutes into stoppage time after a tackle on Verona’s Kevin Lasagna just outside the penalty area.
Juventus extended their winning streak in the league to five games while Verona have now suffered nine Serie A losses in a row in for the first time.
Juventus are third on the table with 28 points from 14 games, with Lazio to play later on Thursday. Verona are bottom of the table with five points.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Ed Osmond)
