Danilo fired Juventus’ second in Serie A with the lone goal in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Udinese, the day the Turin giants honored their late former captain Gianluca Vialli.

Massimilano Allegri’s side jumped a point clear of AC Milan and just four points behind league leaders Napoli thanks to a well-constructed goal from the Brazilian defender with four minutes remaining at the Allianz Stadium.

Danilo extended Juve’s league winning streak to eight games, a run in which they have not conceded after Federico Chiesa controlled fellow substitute Leandro Paredes’ delicate chip and then executed a perfect pass on goal.

That was one of the few clear chances Juve created against eighth-placed Udinese, who were without their talisman Gerard Deulofeu and are winless in nine games.

On Friday, Juve traveled to Napoli, which will play Sampdoria on Sunday, where Vialli, a victim of pancreatic cancer, played most of his football and perhaps cried the most.

“After the victory, our first thoughts go to Gianluca Vialli. He was a great guy, I was lucky to have had him in my life,” said Italian striker Chiesa.

The 25-year-old was part of the Italy squad that won Euro 2020 and hailed Vialli’s role in that triumph despite not having a coaching role with the Azzurri setup.

“At the Euro, he really was like an extra player, it really was like he was on the pitch with us,” Chiesa added.

“You could talk for hours and hours about what a great man he was. This victory is for him.”

Milan, champions, will return to second place if they beat Roma in the last game on Sunday.

– recalled Vialli –

It was an emotional day for many Juve fans, who will remember Vialli as the last captain to lead his team to a major European title more than a quarter of a century ago.

Fans brought shirts emblazoned with the former Italy striker’s name, while a banner in the stands of the Allianz Stadium depicted the moment he lifted the Champions League trophy in 1996.

Gianluca Pessotto, who played more than 250 times for Juventus and was alongside Vialli in that triumphant campaign, hailed “a captain. A friend”, in his praise prior to the game on the pitch.

“You were our leader on and off the pitch,” said former Italy international Pessotto, who is now sporting director of Juve’s youth academy.

“No one will ever forget the memories you gave us with your football and your goals. We will miss your smile very much.”

Juve was also mourning former Italian defender Ernesto Castaño, who won three Serie A titles with the Turin giants in the 1960s and died on Thursday aged 83.

Castaño won the 1968 Euro Cup with his country and was a founding member of the Italian Footballers Association along with Gianni Rivera.

Andrea Agnelli also said goodbye in his last home game as Juve president after announcing his resignation late last year with the club accused by prosecutors in Turin of a variety of financial crimes.

Agnelli, along with the rest of the club’s board of directors, including former star midfielder Pavel Nedved, will be replaced later this month, but still had time to present Massimiliano Allegri with the manager of the month award before kick-off.

Nicolás González scored a stoppage-time winner for Fiorentina on his return from an absence of more than two months to give his team a 2-1 win over Sassuolo.

Argentine winger González made his first appearance since late October as a second-half substitute and scored a late penalty after a handball from Ruan Tressoldi.

AFP