Juve held by Torino

7RULQR -XYHQWXV

ROME – Juventus were held to a goalless draw at local rivals Torino on Saturday before Bologna host Monza with a chance to close in on third place in Serie A.

Another disappointing performance left Juve five points above fourth-placed Bologna who continue their bid for a first-ever spot in the Champions League in the day’s late match.

Italian clubs’ good performances in Europe this season means Serie A is almost guaranteed an extra place in next year’s revamped version of the continent’s top club competition.

That should ensure that Juve will return to the European elite come September. They are 12 points ahead of Atalanta who are sixth with a game in hand and face Verona on Monday night.

WON JUST TWICE

However, Massimiliano Allegri’s side have won just twice in their last 11 matches and are 19 points behind champions-elect Inter Milan after being title challengers in January.

Juve did not do enough to win their city derby but Dusan Vlahovic should have scored in the sixth minute when he struck the post from point-blank range after great work down the right from Federico Chiesa.

Vlahovic was also denied by a smart stop from Vanja Milinkovic-Savic just after the hour mark, while Duvan Zapata netted seconds after halftime for Torino only for his goal to be ruled out for Raoul Bellanova’s foul on Filip Kostic.

Torino stay ninth after yesterday’s stalemate, five points behind Atalanta and the Europa Conference League place. Earlier, Nicola Sansone’s late strike gave Lecce a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Empoli.