Rome: Simone Pepe scored in the 87th minute to give Juventus a 1-0 win over 10-man Lazio on Monday in a Serie A match between two clubs desperate to secure a place in Europe next season.
Pepe, who missed a large portion of this season due to injury, scored with an angled shot that deflected in off a defender.
Six minutes earlier, Lazio midfielder Cristian Ledesma was sent off after receiving his second yellow card for tripping Felipe Melo to stop a Juventus counterattack.
Lazio remained in fourth place — which carries the final Champions League berth — but is only one point in front of both Udinese and Roma. Juventus, which is seventh, moved within four points of Lazio with three matches remaining in the Italian league.
"This is a great satisfaction. It was a tough match and this is a big result," Pepe said.
Lazio had dominated until Ledesma was sent off.
Lazio midfielder Christian Brocchi missed close chances in the 27th and 43rd and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon blocked a long shot from Hernanes in the 69th.
In the 66th, Lazio players argued they should have been awarded a penalty and replays showed they may have been right, with Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini making contact with Sergio Floccari inside the area.
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