Late goal and Ronaldo injury hand Juventus double blow

Lazio substitute Felipe Caicedo scored a crucial late goal for the third time in two weeks to earn his side a 1-1 draw at home to Juventus after Cristiano Ronaldo had given the champions a first-half lead.

The Ecuadorean grabbed a 98th-minute winner at Torino last weekend and notched a late equaliser in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at Zenit St Petersburg.

Yesterday, he levelled in the 94th minute to end Juve’s resistance after Lazio had dominated the second half.

Ronaldo had given the titleholders a 15th-minute lead with his sixth league goal of the season. He also hit the post and saw a free-kick saved before half time, but was taken off in the second half after injuring his ankle.

Juventus have 13 points from seven games, three behind leaders AC Milan who host Verona later on Sunday. Lazio have 11 points.

“Championships and matches are won on details and we didn’t keep possession of the ball in the final seconds,” Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo said.

“We weren’t streetwise enough to bring home the points. It’s a shame about the last 10 seconds because our goal was never in danger. We are satisfied with the performance but not the result.”

Lazio were without leading scorer Ciro Immobile, midfielder Lucas Leiva and goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha amid reports that they had tested positive for Covid-19.

Juventus took the lead in the 15th minute when Juan Cuadrado beat a couple of Lazio defenders on the right before sending in a low cross for an unmarked Ronaldo to tap in from point blank range.

Lazio brabbed the equaliser with virtually the last kick of the match. Correa fed Caicedo, who swiveled to fire into the bottom right corner.