Nightmarish start for Juventus

DOUBLE BLOW Pjanic, Dzeko strike as Roma inflict second straight defeat; worst-ever beginning for Serie A champs

MILAN: Roma condemned Juventus to a second straight defeat at the start of the season for the first time in the Old Lady of Turin’s history with a 2-1 Serie A victory on Sunday.

Runners-up to Juventus the past two seasons, Roma raced into a 2-0 lead with 11 minutes to play thanks to Bosnia pair Miralem Pjanic and Edin Dzeko after Juventus had been reduced to 10 men following Patrice Evra’s sending-off.

The champions pulled a consolation goal back, their first of the league season, through Paulo Dybala in the final minutes.

But Roma held on to beat Juventus in the league for the first time since February 2013.

“We dominated them so we’re looking at the glass half-full, but we went to sleep at the end and gave them a really soft goal,” Roma captain Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sport. “But I think we played incredibly. You can’t forget, Juventus were challenging for the Champions League (in the final) a few months ago.”

Beaten 3-1 by Barcelona in the final of last season’s Champions League, Juve have now failed to win their opening two games of a Serie A season for the very first time, having lost 1-0 at home to Udinese last week.

French left back Lucas Digne made his Roma debut following a loan move from Paris SaintGermain and held his own amid a tense and high-octane encounter.

Roma went about their tast with a swagger in a dominant first half that left Juve’s Gianluigi Buffon by far the busier of the two goalkeepers.

Iago Falque, Mohamed Salah, Radja Nainggolan and Alessandro Florenzi kept the Roma midfield ticking as Juventus struggled to find their rhythm, with Buffon relieved when Pjanic’s angled effort came off the far upright.

A Giorgio Chiellini yellow card, for the defender’s second foul from behind on Pjanic, was indicative of a niggly encounter in which several players clashed. Roma had earlier seen claims for a penalty waved away after Florenzi came crashing down in front of Mario Mandzukic as he ran in to the box.

ROMA WENT ABOUT THEIR TAST WITH A SWAGGER THAT LEFT JUVE’S GIANLUIGI BUFFON BY FAR THE BUSIER OF THE TWO GOALKEEPERS