SPAL HOLD JUVE, OFFER NAPOLI LIFELINE

ROME:

Juventus’s march towards a seventh consecutive Serie A championship was stalled on Saturday by a goalless draw at struggling SPAL that kept the suspense alive in Italy.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side had been bidding to open a seven-point cushion on Napoli, who can now close the gap to two when they host Genoa on Sunday .

“I’m neither angry nor disappointed, we came up against a battling SPAL who fought us and played a wicked game,” said Allegri. “They made many fouls, 29, to break up our game. These are not excuses, but things that can happen during the season.

“It’s only human that when you are top of the Serie A table, in the Champions League quarter-finals and the Italian Cup final, you can miss a beat and lack energy once in a while.

“The positive thing is that we kept a clean sheet and still have a fivepoint advantage.”

Juventus’s 12-match league winning streak came to a halt but they matched their own Serie A record of 10 games without conceding a goal. The champions lacked inspiration against the promoted side from Ferrara, to the north of Bologna, with normally reliable goal machines Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain failing to fire.

It was the first time in nearly 50 years that Juventus had played in Ferrara and they came up against a solid and well-organised SPAL unit.