Rome, Dec 08: Title-holders Juventus lost more ground in the Italian title race after crashing to their second consecutive league defeat here.
First-half goals from Italy internationals Bernardo Corradi and Stefano Fiore gave Lazio a deserved 2-0 win over the reigning Serie A champions, just hours after AC Milan had taken sole possession of top spot with a fortuitous 1-0 victory at Empoli.
Milan lead the table with 30 points from their 12 matches played but they can be caught by Roma, who play their game in hand away to Chievo yesterday.
Juventus, beaten 3-1 at home to Inter last week and by Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday, remain in third place, four points behind milan.
Lazio's surprise victory at the Olympic stadium kickstarted their own challenge, moving them up to fourth place which they share with Inter Milan.



Fiore said he was pleased to see a positive reaction from his team following their miserable 3-0 defeat at Siena.



"I said that Siena was an ugly episode and that we had to show something out there on the pitch," he said.



"The most important thing is that we've bounced back.Juventus remain an exceptional team, but we were out of this world in the first-half."



Juventus coach Marcello Lippi refused to criticise his underperforming players and accepted responsibility for the club's third defeat in seven days.



"The technical staff and I have to take the majority of the blame," he said.


Bureau Report