Milan: Serie A title chasers Juventus secured a dramatic 2-1 win over Lazio in the Stadio Olimpico to move up to second in the table.
Giorgio Chiellini opened the scoring in the second minute with a powerful header, but Mauro Zarate tapped home from close range 12 minutes later to level the scores.
But with just five seconds remaining in stoppage time, Milos Krasic burst into the box and had his dinked cross touched into his own net by Lazio stopper Fernando Muslera.
Juventus made a blistering start and opened the scoring with barely a minute and a half on the clock. Alberto Aquilani floated over an inviting in-swinging corner and Chiellini barged ahead of Stefano Mauri and stooped to plant a powerful header beyond Muslera.
The goal seemed to stun Lazio, who struggled to find their feet in the early stages. The Bianconeri looked to be in a ruthless mood and almost extended their lead in the eighth minute when Fabio Quagliarella shaved the near post with a hooked effort from a Krasic cut-back.
The Aquile finally began to feel their way into the game and grabbed an equaliser in the 14th minute. Juve goalkeeper Marco Storari flapped at a Zarate corner and the ball broke for Hernanes, who fired the ball back into the danger area. Zarate had drifted infield after taking the kick and was on hand to side-foot into the net via the post to restore parity.
But it was the hosts who were soon back on the offensive as Aquilani’s whipped free-kick flicked off the defensive wall and clipped the crossbar, and then Krasic went close with a lofted effort which skimmed the roof of the net.
Aquilani was becoming particularly influential at this stage and fired over a cross which Quagliarella glanced wide. The Liverpool loanee went close with a sizzling long-range drive moments later, but Muslera got the merest of fingertips to the shot to turn it over.
With the referee poised to blow for half-time, Hernanes strode forward from midfield unopposed and elected to go for goal rather than utilise options to his left and right, but his effort was tame and drifted wide of the upright.
Felipe Melo underlined Juventus’ disappointment to be going in level at the interval when he furiously smashed the ball into touch as the half-time whistle finally sounded.
Chances were few and far between in a second half in which the defences were well on top.
Muslera denied Aquilani with a one-handed stop five minutes into the second 45, and Felipe Melo curled an effort wide of the upright in the 66th minute.
However, these were veritable goalscoring chances when compared with Lazio’s tame efforts, which included an Andre Dias header from a Zarate corner which ended up well over the crossbar and substitute Mobido Diakite’s woeful 35-yard strike which whistled high, wide and not very handsome.
Juventus continued to look the most likely to take the lead and were cursing Muslera again when he used two hands to beat away a powerful drive from substitute Simone Pepe in the 73rd minute.
Vincenzo Iaquinta and Pepe both went close in the closing stage and when Alessandro Del Piero’s wicked free-kick from an acute angle was acrobatically tipped over by Muslera that looked like that.
But with around five seconds left in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time, Krasic burst onto Mohamed Sissoko’s slide-rule pass, drove to the byline and flicked over a cross which Muslera flipped into his own net to hand Juventus a 2-1 win and a crucial three points in the race for the Scudetto.
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