Juventus picked up their first point in Serie A when a late penalty helped the four-time defending champions rescue a 1-1 draw against surprise front-runners AC Chievo Verona on Saturday.
Paulo Dybala converted the disputed spot-kick, called after Juan Cuadrado was tripped by Chievo defender Bostjan Cesar.
“We conceded a goal that we could have defended better,” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said. “After the goal the team played well. It’s not a fortunate time for us, but I don’t have anything to reproach the lads about. Between the transfer window and the international break I only had the whole squad available from Thursday. No one expected Juve to have only one point after three matches, but there are also positive aspects.”
Photo: AP
Perparim Hetemaj got Chievo on the board after just five minutes. Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon then pulled off a fantastic save to deny Cesar, who also had a goal ruled out.
Chievo lost their 100 percent record, but remained on top, above AS Roma on goal-difference.
“There were two key incidents which could have been judged in a different way,” Chievo coach Rolando Maran said.
Roma beat local rivals Frosinone 2-0, while 10-man ACF Fiorentina topped Genoa 1-0.
Fiorentina are a point below the top two, along with a number of teams, including Inter ahead of yesterday’s eagerly anticipated Milan derby.
Juventus were still searching for their first point after their worst Serie A start, but rested several players ahead of the UEFA Champions League trip to Manchester City tomorrow.
Chievo took the lead quickly when Hetemaj was given time and space on the edge of the area to pick his spot and fired into the far corner.
Hernanes was making his debut for Juventus, following his move from Inter, and he almost leveled, but was denied by a fantastic stop from Albano Bizzarri.
Juventus were jeered off the pitch at halftime and Buffon went behind his goal to ask the fans to support the players.
Chievo almost doubled their advantage six minutes after the break, but Buffon pulled off a fantastic save to palm Cesar’s volley onto the upright.
Juventus should have leveled minutes later when Roberto Pereyra’s effort came off the right post and halftime substitute Paul Pogba seemed certain to net the rebound, but his shot was charged down by Nicolas Frey and then Dybala blazed over.
In the end-to-end action, Chievo thought they had extended their advantage in the 62nd minute, but Cesar’s strike was ruled out as he was adjudged to have pulled down Leonardo Bonucci, although both appeared to be tugging each other.
Chievo had further reason to be disgruntled with referee Marco Guida after he awarded Juventus a somewhat soft penalty. Cuadrado was running into the area and went down easily after a sliding challenge by Cesar.
Dybala fired into the top-right corner.
Earlier, Roma captain Francesco Totti made his first appearance of the season, starting his 24th campaign with the Giallorossi.
Roma were brimming with confidence in the local derby after beating Juventus and they broke the deadlock when Frosinone failed to clear a Lucas Digne throw-in and Iago Falque was able to bundle the ball in from the edge of the six-yard box.
Alessandro Florenzi should have sealed the result six minutes from time, but he hit the crossbar.
With Frosinone pouring forward, the hosts were caught out by a classic counterattack. Mohamed Salah found Juan Iturbe, who feinted past Modibo Diakite and fired emphatically past Nicola Leali.
In Florence, Giuseppe Rossi made his first start in 482 days as he returned from a knee injury.
Khouma Babacar headed home the winner for Fiorentina on the hour, rising highest at the back post to head Borja Valero’s cross into the bottom-left corner.
Fiorentina’s joy did not last long as Milan Badelj was sent off four minutes later following a needless second booking.
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