The China Mail - 'Surprise package' Lazio crush Juve to keep pace with Serie A leaders Inter

Lazio trail the defending champions on goal difference, but 19 points is their highest total after seven league games, surpassing the 17 accumulated by Sven Goran Ericsson's team to open the 1999-2000 season.

That side went unbeaten for their first nine games and ended up winning their second, and most recent, Serie A title, by one point from Juventus.

"We may well be the surprise package of this league, but we mustn't change our approach, we need to take each match as it comes and work hard," said Lazio coach Gennaro Gattuso.

Lazio took control with a Danish double.

Oliver Provstgaard, a 1.93m centre back, leapt high above the home defence after 37 minutes and guided a header inside the far post.

After 66 minutes, winger Gustav Isaksen, faced by a backpedalling fullback, drifted inside and placed a low shot inside the far post.

With three minutes left, substitute Fisayo Dele-Bashiru picked up the ball in his own half and cantered unhindered into the Juventus penalty area before sliding home his shot.

Juventus, who were booed off by their fans, have won just one of their last five league matches and are eighth, eight points adrift.

"We were clearly outplayed, we were slow, we lacked ideas," said coach Luciano Spalletti. "It's hard to understand."

- 'Right balance' -

AC Milan held off visiting Atalanta 3-2 to end the weekend fourth, four points off the lead.

Young Slovenian Relja Obric made a nightmare debut for Atalanta.

The 20-year-old came on for injured Sead Kolasinac after 19 minutes but his first touch in Serie A five minutes later was a handball as he instinctively moved his arm into the path of a shot from Yunus Musah.

Milan's club-record signing Goncalo Ramos placed the penalty inside Marco Carnesecchi's left-hand post.

Then Obric allowed a shot from France midfielder Adrien Rabiot through his legs as Milan doubled their lead before half-time.

Danish central defender Thomas Kristensen gave away a carbon copy handball penalty after 65 minutes. Ramos went the other way but Carnesecchi saved it.

The reprieve was short-lived. Rabiot nodded on the corner and Mario Gila headed in from point-blank range at the far post.

Gianluca Gaetano and Nikola Krstovic pulled two back for the visitors in the second half but it was too little, too late for Atalanta as they succumbed to a fourth defeat of the campaign.

"Usually, we struggle at the start of the match and play better in the second half. It was the opposite today; we need to find the right balance, but these are three important points in our season," said Rabiot.

Como won 3-1 at struggling Fiorentina to rise to fifth.

First-half goals by Mattia Liberali and Nico Paz put Como in charge, before Marin Pongracic halved the deficit shortly before the interval.

Anastasios Douvikas netted early in the second period to keep the hosts locked in the relegation zone on four points.

For Como, it was a first win in four matches, going back over the international break to mid-September.

"We played a very complete game," coach Cesc Fabregas said. "There are risks when you play the way we do. There's no such thing as perfect tactics."

Earlier, Lecce won 3-0 at Udinese, with Kialonda Gaspar, Konan N'Dri and Jamil Siebert all finding the net.

C.Smith--ThChM