Soccer Football - Serie A - Juventus v Torino - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - November 9, 2024 Juventus' Kenan Yildiz celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Massimo Pinca
TURIN, Italy (Reuters) -Goals from Timothy Weah and Kenan Yildiz saw Juventus maintain their impressive run against neighbours Torino with a 2-0 home win on Saturday, extending their unbeaten streak in the Turin Derby and moving them up to third in the Serie A standings.
Juve are on 24 points, level with second-placed Inter Milan and one point behind leaders Napoli. Inter host Napoli on Sunday. Torino are 11th in the standings on 14 points.
Torino arrived at the Juventus Stadium with a dismal record against their city rivals, failing to win in their previous 18 meetings, and their current form offered little hope of that changing, with five defeats in their last six games.
Weah was quickest to react when Torino goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic spilled a shot in the 18th minute and a Yildiz header six minutes from time wrapped up all three points as Juve remain the only undefeated side in Serie A.
The opening half brought plenty of attacking promise from Juventus but apart from the goal and a Dusan Vlahovic shot easily saved by the keeper, Thiago Motta's side failed to convert their possession into real chances.
Juve got off the mark when Andrea Cambiaso sprinted into the area and got a shot away which Milinkovic-Savic should have held and Weah could not believe his luck as he rolled the ball into the net already starting his celebration.
Both sets of fans created plenty of noise to match the occasion but the players largely failed to respond on the pitch. Torino did at least manage to spend more time in the opposition half after the break but never looked like equalising.
Juventus forward Francisco Conceicao threatened to light up the game with a curling shot from distance only to see his effort fizz just wide of the post but minutes later it was his cross which brought the safety cushion of a second goal.
Conceicao raced down the right into the area and floated a cross to the back post where Yildiz's diving header hit the net.
In tribute to his hero and former Juve player Alessandro Del Piero, who celebrated his 50th birthday on Saturday, Yildiz celebrated just like his idol with his tongue out as he raced away, the brightest moment in a mostly dour derby.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Ken Ferris)
