Surprise, surprise! Juventus climb out of the Serie A relegation zone after Spezia gives them hell

It took them a while, but Juventus have finally gotten their first victory of the not-so-new Serie A campaign. But it wasn't an easy one, oh no. Not many things seem to go easy for Juventus these days – but they have the points after a 3-2 success over Spezia.

It seemed to have started well with Moise Kean giving The Old Lady the lead just before the half-hour mark. But it wasn't all fun and games. Ghanaian attacker Emmanuel Quartsin Gyasi levelled just five minutes later to shock Massimiliano Allegri and his players.

Juve were determined to restore the lead against one of the league's smallest clubs, but instead, they were dealt another slap in the face – just a few minutes after the break, Spezia were 2-1 ahead. It was a result few would have expected – and it certainly wasn't in the script as far as Juve were concerned.

Spezia's Dutch goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet was on a mission to deny Juve but he was powerless to prevent Federico Chiesa from levelling the scores when burst through the heart of the Venezia defence before slotting home.

Matthijs de Ligt netted the decisive goal when he capitalised on some loose defending from the hosts as they failed to clear a corner and the Dutchman fired home in the midst of a penalty box melee. The former Ajax captain doesn't score many goals but he's picked a great moment to do so.

Spezia pushed hard to break down a fragile Juventus rearguard, but Allegri’s men held on to claim three points and end their worst start to a season since 1961/62. This win lifted the Bianconeri to the heady heights of twelfth position in the standings, while Spezia remain just above the drop zone in 16th.

In the other early match Salernitana earned their first point of the season when they came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home with Verona. Nikola Kalinic put the away side ahead with a deft first-half brace but Cedric Gondo pulled one back just before half-time when the ball dropped to him following Franck Ribery's free-kick. Mamadou Coulibaly then struck the leveller with 14 minutes left to send a passionate home crowd wild, although the promoted outfit stay bottom of the league.

SERIE A - ROUND 5

Tuesday

Bologna - Genoa 2-2 (0-0)

/Hickey 49, Arnautovic pen 85 - Destro 55, Criscito pen 89/

Atalanta - Sasuolo 2-1 (2-1)

/Gosens 3, Zappacosta 37 - Berardi 44/

Fiorentina - Inter 1-3 (1-0)

/Sottil 23 - Darmian 52, Dzeko 55, Perisic 87/

Wednesday

Spezia - Juventus 2-3 (1-1)

/Gyasi 33, Antiste 49 - Kean 28, Chiesa 66, De Ligt 72/

21.45: (2.15) Cagliari (3.45) Empoli (3.35)

21.45: (1.28) Milan (5.70) Venezia (10.5)

Thursday

19.30: (4.10) Sampdoria (3.50) Napoli (1.90)

19.30: (3.10) Torino (3.35) Lazio (2.30)

21.45: (1.55) Roma (4.10) Udinese (6.00)

***odds are subject to change