GENOA, Italy (Reuters) -Juventus returned to top of the Serie A standings after a 3-0 win at Genoa on Saturday as striker Dusan Vlahovic found the net twice to help Thiago Motta’s side recover their scoring touch.
Juventus, who started their campaign with consecutive 3-0 wins but drew each of their last three league games 0-0, top the table with 12 points from six games.
They are one point ahead of second-placed Torino, who host Lazio on Sunday, as well as rivals AC Milan and Inter Milan, in third and fourth.
The teams – who drew both Serie A encounters last season – started cautiously and a dull first half ended with no shots on target, with Vlahovic sending a free kick just over the bar.
But the game came alive when Juventus were awarded a penalty for Koni De Winter’s handball after the break and the Serbia striker made no mistake when he converted from the spot.
He then scored again in the 55th minute, sending a Teun Koopmeiners pass into the far bottom corner from a tight angle, before the Dutch midfielder hit the bar from close range shortly after.
Vlahovic had a chance to seal the win with a hat-trick late in the game but his header missed the target from point-blank range.
Substitute Francisco Conceicao sealed the win with a low, one-touch finish from near the penalty spot one minute from fulltime.
Juve have a perfect record so far of six games with a clean sheet, the first such run in the club’s history.
The last side to have managed a similar feat were AC Milan in 1993 under Fabio Capello.
The game in Genoa was played behind closed doors after crowd violence during their Coppa Italia fixture against Serie B side Sampdoria left more than 50 people injured.
Juventus travel to RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday before they host bottom side Cagliari in Serie A on Oct. 6.
Genoa, who were unbeaten in their previous three league games against Juventus, have one win from six games and are 16th on five points.
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in GdanskEditing by Christian Radnedge)
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