Juventus claim 2-0 win over struggling Spezia

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Goals by forward Moise Kean and winger Angel Di Maria helped Juventus to a 2-0 victory at Spezia in Serie A on Sunday, extending their winning streak in the league to three games.

Juve, who on Thursday were held to a 1-1 draw by Nantes in the home leg of their Europa League playoff tie, moved up to seventh on 32 points from 23 games. They are 10 points off fourth spot.

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"In the first half we played badly technically, making a lot of mistakes, in the attack we risked little or nothing," coach Massimiliano Allegri told a news conference.

"In the second we did better but we risked conceding a goal, [goalkeeper Mattia] Perin made an extraordinary save.

"We must improve in tranquillity and in the management of technical passes, where we are a bit hasty or hysterical."

Juventus, who had 15 points deducted by an Italian soccer court investigating the club's transfer dealings, have now collected 14 league wins this season, all of them with a clean sheet.

Striker Dusan Vlahovic thought he had put Juventus ahead in the 17th minute but the Serbian saw his goal ruled out for offside.

The visitors took the lead 15 minutes later, after a cross by Filip Kostic found Kean who beat Spezia substitute goalkeeper Federico Marchetti from inside the box with his first touch.

Spezia were confident in seeking chances and kept Perin on his toes with efforts including a close-range header by striker Eldor Shomurodov in the 40th minute.

Substitute Di Maria sealed the win for Juve in the 66th with a low shot from a distance into the bottom corner.

"I have always been lucky because the teams I have coached have been stuffed with champions. Di Maria is among them," Allegri said.

"The bad luck is that he is 35 years old, I would have liked him to be younger so he could play every game. He came in and did extraordinary things."

The hosts, however, continued to have more possession and used it to press their more successful opponents, with forward Emmanuel Gyasi and defender Dimitrios Nikolaou forcing Perin to pull off great saves.

Spezia, who have now lost four of their last five Serie A outings, stay 17th in the standings, two points above the drop zone. They have not won a league game at home for more than five months.

Earlier on Sunday, Lazio jumped three places to fourth spot by winning 2-0 at Salernitana with a double from Italy striker Ciro Immobile to reach 42 points.

Sixth-placed Atalanta failed to make a top-four return when they lost 2-1 at home to Lecce, the second defeat in their last three league outings. They have 41 points.