Serie A: Moise Kean’s strike earns Juventus fifth straight victory

Moise Kean’s strike was enough for Juventus to defeat the bottom-placed hosts Hellas Verona on Thursday, giving them five straight Serie A victories.

The team led by Massimiliano Allegri had won four straight games while Verona had dropped eight straight league games.

Salvatore Bocchetti’s men, however, made things difficult for Juve and appeared to have a chance of picking up a crucial point.

Despite Alex Sandro’s late dismissal, Kean’s deflected goal in the 60th minute gave him three goals in his last three starts, and his team held on to extend their winning streak.

After a corner was cleared to him outside the box, Sulemana’s powerful drive flew just past the post as Verona made a promising start and went close within three minutes.

Arkadiusz Milik and Manuel Locatelli both put Verona goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo to the test as Juve gained control of the game.

After the break, Pawel Dawidowicz blew a good chance to score when the ball fell to him in the area and he scooped it over.

When Adrien Rabiot crossed for Kean, Juve came close to taking the lead, but the low delivery narrowly eluded the former Everton striker’s outstretched boot.

Juve hit the hosts on a brilliant counter to take the lead on the hour as the game grew more tense.

Before Montipo pawed at Kean’s deflected effort to stop it from bouncing in, Kean took Rabiot’s pass in stride.

Juve experienced a major scare when the referee initially pointed to the spot after Leonardo Bonucci and Simone Verdi collided in the box, but a VAR review prompted him to change his mind.

Sandro received a second caution in stoppage time for cynically stepping on Kevin Lasagna as he charged toward goal, but it made no difference because the ensuing free-kick missed and the game eventually ended, much to Juve’s relief.