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Struggling Juventus stuttered to a narrow 1-0 win over Torino in the first Turin derby of the Serie A season, Amauri netting the only goal of the game.

It the Juve's first league win in five attempts - they had lost their two most recent Serie A outings - and was enough to lift them into 10th place.

But the unconvincing manner of the Bianconeri's second half performance after having taken the lead did little to suggest they have turned the corner.

The game at Turin's Stadio Olimpico was very much a game of two halves: Claudio Ranieri's side bossed the first before contributing little once Amauri had put them ahead just minutes into the second.

During the opening period, Juve had enjoyed far more possession than their city rivals but the hosts failed to convert that dominance into what counts - goals.

That said, it was not for the want of trying, and Juve threatened the Toro goal on several occasions.

Mohamed Sissoko in particular was in the mood, shooting from distance a number of times, albeit with varying degrees of accuracy. Just once the Mali international brought a save out of Toro keeper Alex Calderoni - a stinging shot from the edge of the penalty area in the 10th minute.

Calderoni was in action again on 22 minutes, making a double save to deny Marco Marchionni twice in quick succession, before he kept out a decent Del Piero free-kick.

Torino's best hopes of scoring seemed to rest with the erratic form of Juventus goalkeeper Alex Manninger, who twice proved fallible during the opening period.

The Austrian shot stopper sparked panic just after the half hour mark when he went for the same Alessandro Rosina cross as team-mate Giorgio Chiellini; Manninger's blushes were spared as he recovered before a Granata shirt could react.

But just moments later he looked shaky again, racing off his line to meet a long ball forward, only to see Rolando Bianchi get there first. Fortunately for the rapidly backpeddling Manninger, the former Manchester City misfit's attempted lob was weak and barely reached the goalline.

After the break, it did not take long for the Old Lady to find their shooting boots, Amauri breaking the deadlock just three minutes into the second half as he broke free of his marker before finishing under the body of the unfortunate Calderoni.

But such is Juve's lack of confidence - a direct result of their recent form - they responded poorly to going a goal ahead, letting Toro back into the contest far too easily.

Instead of killing the game with more attacking football and another goal, Juve sat back, allowing Toro to grow in stature and make a real game of it.

As the second half progressed, and as Juve looked more and more fragile, Toro looked more dangerous, although they did not create a clear cut chance until the 80th minute when substitute Elvis Abruscato glanced a header wide of the far post.

As time ran out another header went wide, this time from the forehead of Nicola Amoruso on 87 minutes, and with that chance went Toro's hopes of getting something from the game.

It was far from classic Juventus, but the three points won could well prove to be vital as they look to get their season back on track.

Siena 1-1 Catania

Earlier, surprise package Catania missed the chance to move top of the table when they drew 1-1 at Siena.

Emanuele Calaio put the hosts in front 15 minutes from time with a powerful header but the Sicilians were quickly level when Giuseppe Mascara converted a penalty after Michele Paolucci was tripped by goalkeeper Gianluca Curci.

Siena had dominated the first half with striker Massimo Maccarone spurning a host of opportunities.

Walter Zenga's Catania go second on 15 points and are one behind leaders Internazionale, who host Genoa in Serie A's main programme of matches on Sunday.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport / Reuters