Carlos Tevez scored two early goals for Juventus before the Serie A leaders squandered their lead to draw 2-2 at Hellas Verona on Sunday.
Luca Toni pulled one back for Verona, while Tevez’s compatriot Juanito Gomez grabbed the equalizer in the fourth minute of stoppage-time after coming on as a late substitute.
Juventus, who failed to win for only the fourth time in 23 Serie A games this season, stayed nine points clear of AS Roma, who were held to a goalless draw by neighbors SS Lazio on Sunday.
Photo: AFP
Gervinho had a goal disallowed for Roma, while Stefano Mauri came on at halftime for Lazio to play his first match since completing a six-month ban for failing to report match-fixing in 2011.
Otherwise, there was little excitement in a disappointing derby with a surprising number of empty seats blighting the Stadio Olimpico.
Elsewhere in the league, troubled Inter produced their first win of the year when they beat lowly US Sassuolo 1-0 with a Walter Samuel header at the San Siro, putting them level in fifth place with Verona.
Brazilian midfielder Hernandes made his Inter debut and midfielder Fredy Guarin his first appearance since his transfer to Juventus fell through last month.
Also on Sunday, Catania and Parma played out a scoreless draw, Bologna beat Torino 2-1, and Genoa and UC Sampdoria both scored early in 1-0 wins to move further away from the relegation zone.
Tenth-placed Genoa — on 30 points — moved above Milan when Luca Antonelli’s early goal sank next-to-bottom AS Livorno.
Daniele Gastaldello’s 11th minute header was enough for former Serbia coach Sinisa Mihajlovic’s Sampdoria to overcome Cagliari, taking them up to twelfth.
Leaders Juventus are well on course to win a third successive Scudetto, sitting nine clear of Roma — who are in their first season under French coach Rudi Garcia — with 60 points. SSC Napoli are third with 47 after beating AC Milan on Saturday.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two