GENOA: Juventus returned to top of the Serie A standings after a 3-0 win at Genoa on Saturday as striker Dusan Vlahovic found the net twice to help Thiago Motta`s side recover their scoring touch.

Juventus, who started their campaign with consecutive 3-0 wins but drew each of their last three league games 0-0, top the table with 12 points from six games.

Genoa have one win from six games and are 16th on five points.

They are one point ahead of second-placed Torino as well as rivals AC Milan and Inter Milan, who were 3-2 winners at Udinese earlier on Saturday, in third and fourth, respectively.

The teams who drew both Serie A encounters lastseason started cautiously and a dull first half ended with no shots on target, withVlahovic sending a free kick just over the bar.

But the game came alivewhen Juventus were awarded a penalty for Koni De Winter`s handball after the break and the Serbia striker made no mistake when he converted from the spot.

He then scored again in the 55th minute, sending a Teun Koopmeiners pass into the far bottom corner from a tight angle, before the Dutch midfielder hit the bar from close range shortly after.

Vlahovic had a chance to seal the win with a hat-trick late in the game but his header missed the target from pointblank range.

Substitute Francisco Coneeicao sealed the win with a low, one-touch finish from near the penalty spot one minute from fulltime.

Juve have a perfect recordso far of six games with a clean sheet, the first such run in the club`s history.

The last side to have managed a similar feat were AC Milan in 1993 under Fabio Capello.

The game in Genoa was played behind closed doors after crowd violence during their Coppa Italia fixture against Serie B side Sampdoria left more than 50 people injured.

Juventus travel to RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday before they host bottom side Cagliari in Serie A on Oct 6.

Earlier, Lautaro Martinez struck his first goals of the season in Inter`s entertaining win at Udinese.

Davide Frattesi`s deft finish after just 43 seconds was fol-lowed by Argentina forward Martinez`s strikes moments before and after half-time.

The win in Udine helped Inter bounce back from Milan derby defeat last weekend.

`After the derby we kept quiet and worked hard and I think you saw that on the pitch,` said Martinez to DAZN.

Martinez`s brace will be great news for coach Simone Inzaghi whose team host Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Before Saturday, last season`s Serie A top scorer had not scored since netting the winner for his country in the Copa America final in July.

`It definitely important for me because a striker is always on the hunt for goals,` he said.

`I always say that first Iwork for the team, and if I manage to score then so much the better.

In the night`s other match, Atalanta`s Lazar Samardzic snatched a late 1-1 draw at 10-man Bologna with a brilliant 90th-minute leveller ahead of their Champions League trip to Shakhtar Donetsk.

Midfielder Samardzic rammed home his equaliser seconds after striking the post, saving a point after playing with an extra man for almost all of the second half following Jhon Lucum`s 51st minute sending off.

Atalanta are ninth and level on seven points with Bologna, who face a daunting Champions League trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool on Wednesday.-Agencies