VERONA, Italy: Winless Hellas Verona ended Juventus’s three-match winning streak in Serie A with a 1-1 draw on Saturday as Gift Orban’s equalizer from the penalty spot in the 44th minute canceled out Francisco Conceicao’s early strike.
Juventus, who drew 4-4 with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday, moved to 10 points from four matches, while Verona have three points after the same number of games.
“Yes, the team was tired,” Juventus coach Igor Tudor told reporters. “This is a different kind of football and we lacked energy. I have nothing to say. Even those who came on showed desire but there was no freshness.”
Two yellow cards in the first nine minutes set the tone for the contest, as Verona’s Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro was booked for a foul on Conceicao shortly before Juventus defender Federico Gatti was cautioned for pushing Domagoj Bradaric.
Orban almost put the hosts ahead in the 11th minute when he intercepted Gatti’s back pass but Juventus keeper Michele Di Gregorio came out to block the Nigerian’s shot.
Juventus were unrelenting in their pursuit of an early goal, as Conceicao failed to score off Kenan Yildiz’s pass and Joao Mario headed wide from Andrea Cambiaso’s cross.
Conceicao, making his first appearance since suffering a muscle injury earlier this month, broke through in the 19th minute when he picked up Khephren Thuram’s pass and cut in from the right, dribbling past two Verona players before finishing with his left foot from the edge of the box.
ORBAN EQUALISES
Verona, however, stayed calm and almost got an equalizer near the half-hour mark when Suat Serdar tried to find the net from 20 meters but his shot was blocked.
The hosts finally equalized when a handball by Mario got them a penalty. Di Gregorio got his hand on Orban’s spot kick but the deflected ball still went in.
Juventus looked for an immediate response early in the second half but Verona keeper Lorenzo Montipo kept out Dusan Vlahovic’s shot off Mario’s throw-in in the 51st minute.
The hosts thought they had taken the lead when Serdar found the net with a header in the 67th minute but a VAR replay ruled him offside.
Verona remained dangerous, with Orban narrowly missing the target off Rafik Belghali’s pass in the 73rd minute and Di Gregorio denying Martin Frese with a diving save soon after, as the visitors held on to secure the draw.
“We knew that Verona are strong at home, we lost a few too many balls which can be explained by the fact that we play every three days,” Conceicao said.
“Big teams have a lot of games to play and we have to bounce back immediately because Juventus have to win every game.”
Juventus host Atalanta next Saturday, a day before Verona continue their league campaign at AS Roma.
