Ronaldo goal not enough as Juventus held by Verona
TURIN: Lacklustre Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw by Hellas Verona after Cristiano Ronaldo’s opener was cancelled out by a towering header from Antonin Barak in Serie A on Saturday.
The result leaves Juve in third place on 46 points, three behind AC Milan and seven adrift of leaders Inter Milan after 23 games, while Verona are ninth with 35 points from 24.
League top scorer Ronaldo fired in his 19th goal this season early in the second half but Barak guided home a 78th-minute equaliser as the champions’ poor run of away form continued.
Andrea Pirlo’s side have picked up four points from their last four league games on the road, and the woodwork saved them twice against a spirited Verona side who deserved a point.
Verona, bolstered by the memory of their 2-1 home win against Juve last season, came close to scoring early on when Davide Faraoni’s glancing header was pushed onto the post by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Federico Chiesa came closest for Juve in the first half when his shot brought a smart save from Marco Silvestri, and the winger turned provider four minutes after the break when he teed up the unmarked Ronaldo for a simple finish.
Verona pulled level when Barak rose well to nod in an inviting Darko Lazovic cross and they almost turned the game on its head with five minutes remaining when Lazovic’s fierce shot was superbly finger-tipped onto the bar by Szczesny.
Earlier, Lazio missed out on the chance to go fourth as they fell to a shock 2-0 defeat at Bologna, with goals from Ibrahima Mbaye and Nicola Sansone either side of the break giving the mid-table hosts a deserved win.