Juventus held to 1-1 draw by Atalanta to miss out on top spot
TURIN, Italy :Juventus missed the chance to move top of the Serie A standings when they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Atalanta on Saturday, coming from behind to equalise but unable to find a late winner when the visitors were down to 10 men.
A second successive draw for the hosts, after opening the season with three wins, gives defending champions Napoli the opportunity to move further ahead, as Juventus failed to beat Atalanta at home for the eighth consecutive league game.
Juventus remain second in the standings on 11 points, one behind Napoli who are away to AC Milan on Sunday, while Atalanta are fifth on nine points.
"Glass half full, because we put in a great performance," Juventus manager Igor Tudor told DAZN.
"One of the best since I've been here. It was a serious match between two teams that compete in the Champions League, so that's okay."
The hosts went on the attack from the off, with Pierre Kalulu's early header coming off the upright and minutes later Teun Koopmeiners charged into the area before hitting his shot into the side netting.
Atalanta keeper Marco Carnesecchi got down well to parry away Vasilije Adzic's effort and Khephren Thuram's shot from outside the area took a deflection which almost beat the keeper but the ball went just wide of the post.
The first half was in added time when Juventus lost possession in their own half and Kamaldeen Sulemana twisted and turned his way into the area before drilling his shot through the legs of Adzic and into the far bottom corner.
Atalanta picked up where they left off after the interval, and should have doubled their lead but Nikola Krstovic put his effort wide when through one-on-one with the keeper.
SUPER SUBSTITUTIONS
The introduction of Dusan Vlahovic from the Juve bench came before the hour mark - the Serbian striker has scored four goals in all competitions this season - but it was two other replacements who combined for the 78th-minute equaliser.
Joao Mario's ball into the box was mis-hit by defender Odilon Kossounou and Juan Cabal pounced to poke home from close range, netting his first Serie A goal, after spending most of last season out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
"I came back after a long time and I'm happy to have scored my first goal in Serie A," Cabal told DAZN.
"We wanted to bring home the three points but better one than zero."
Two minutes later, Atalanta captain Marten de Roon picked up a second booking but, despite laying siege to the visitors' goal, Tudor's Juventus were forced to settle for a draw against his Croatian counterpart and former Hajduk Split teammate Ivan Juric.
