Juventus settles for a 1-1 draw with Hellas Verona

Despite taking a 1-0, thanks to a Christiano Ronaldo goal, defending champions Juventus had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Hellas Verona in Serie A. The draw has given table toppers, Inter Milan a chance to take a 10 points lead over Juventus when they take on Genoa at San Siro on Saturday. Juventus currently are placed 3rd in the points table, 3 points behind AC Milan, who play Roma, who are placed 5th, 2 points behind Juventus, on Sunday. 

Advertisment

Juventus Coach Andrea Pirlo was left disappointed after the draw and said that they should have won the match after taking a lead, which is the hardest part. Juventus were playing an inexperienced side with regular defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini out due to injuries. Juan Cuadrado, Arthur and Paulo Dybala were other noticiable absenties.

"We lacked experienced players, we had many youngsters on the pitch and there are details that they don't understand," said Pirlo. "I asked Ronaldo and Alex Sandro to make their voices heard, but it wasn't enough."

 Juventus Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saved Juventus a vital goal after a header by Davide Faraoni just minutes into the match. Ronaldo then broke through a perfect lay off from Federico Chiesa, four minutes after the break. Verona’s efforts paid off in the 77th minute when Darco Lazovic floated in a cross from left for Barak to head in and make it 1-1. In the last moments, the hosts had an opportunity to score a winner but Wojciech Szczesny was alert and managed to tip Lazovic’s strike.