Juventus climbed to third place in Serie A, after Dusan Vlahovic's early strike secured a narrow 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Lecce.

Vlahovic scored what proved to be the only goal after just 12 seconds at Via del Mare, where the Bianconeri boosted their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

Straight from the kick-off, the striker controlled Andrea Cambiaso's inviting cross and fired past Wladimiro Falcone from close range, while the post denied Francisco Conceicao a second goal soon after.

Juve were twice denied by the offside flag following VAR interventions in the second half.

First, Vlahovic's rebound was disallowed just after half-time, while Pierre Kalulu was adjudged to be ahead of play when he turned in Cambiaso's cross on 59 minutes.

Substitute Konan N'Dri fired into the side-netting at the other end 12 minutes from time, but that was as close as the hosts came to an equaliser.

Data Debrief: Juve quick out of the blocks

Timed at 12 seconds, Vlahovic's goal was the fastest by a Juventus player in Serie A since data began in 2004-05.

The Serbian eclipsed Arturo Vidal's strike against Inter in November 2012 (18 seconds), while only Rafael Leao (six seconds) and Hirving Lozano (nine seconds) have netted earlier in the competition.

Juve have recorded four straight away clean sheets in Serie A for the first time since doing so between October 2022 and January 2023.

And Luciano Spalletti's side were well worth their victory, producing 2.16 expected goals (xG) from 15 shots to Lecce's 0.88 from eight attempts.