Cristiano Ronaldo’s 19th Serie A goal for Juventus this season was not enough as Hellas Verona battled back to neutralize the Bianconeri for one point. Juventus made the trip to Bentegodi with a host of absentees, which meant head coach Andrea Pirlo had to call up several youngsters.
After a goalless first half on Saturday, Juve broke the deadlock straight after the interval, when Federico Chiesa moved into the box and squared for unmarked Ronaldo to finish with a daisy-cutter, Xinhua news reports.
Juve had the chance to double the lead on the hour mark, but Aaron Ramsey’s rocket was denied by the goalkeeper.
Verona scored the equalizer in the 77th minute as Antonin Barak out-jumped Alex Sandro to steer in a header from close range.
The home side was close to turning the game around, as Darko Lazovic’s attempt forced a one-handed save out of Wojciech Szczesny.
The Old Lady still ranks third with 46 points but could drop to fourth should Roma beat AC Milan on Sunday.
Lazio failed to bounce back from its midweek fiasco against Bayern Munich in the Champions League as the Biancocelesti suffered a 2-0 away defeat to Bologna, while Ciro Immobile missed a penalty.
Also on Saturday, Parma should have racked up its first victory since early December, as it surged into a 2-0 lead just 24 minutes into the game, but Spezia clawed back for a 2-2 home draw with Emmanuel Gyasi’s brace.
