Del Piero at the double for Juventus

David Trezeguet's 12th league goal of the season and an Alessandro Del Piero double took Juventus up to joint-second place in Serie A after a thrilling 3-2 win against S.S. Lazio while Udinese Calcio failed to stay in touch after slipping to their third defeat of the campaign.

Trezeguet strike
Juventus continued their seamless transition to top-flight football with an exciting victory at the Stadio Olimpico. The hosts had been hoping to erase the memory of their midweek UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid CF but fell behind when Trezeguet pounced from close range to give his side the lead (29). However, Goran Pandev, who scored in Spain, headed Lazio level six minutes later in an open affair.

Del Piero double
With Vincenzo Iaquinta and Mauro Camoranesi out injured Del Piero took the rare opportunity to impress from the start by restoring the lead when he sprang the offside trap and raced half the length of the field before coolly beating Marco Ballotta (48). And, after Gianluigi Buffon pulled off a series of extraordinary saves for the visitors, the Juve captain scored again with a powerful shot (70). Pandev was again on target late on but the Turin-based outfit held on to move level on 32 points with AS Roma, who travel to Torino FC on Sunday, and five points behind leaders FC Internazionale Milano.

Udinese loss
Udinese missed out on the chance to keep up with the top three after succumbing to their third defeat of the season at Calcio Catania. Giuseppe Mascara scored early on for the hosts and doubled his tally four minutes from time to take his side up to eighth in the table and put one over on former coach Pasquale Marino, who left Catania for the Friulani in the summer.