ROME :AS Roma and Juventus played out a 1-1 draw in Serie A on Sunday as Roma’s Eldor Shomurodov cancelled out a first-half opener by Juve captain Manuel Locatelli.
Locatelli broke the deadlock for the visitors five minutes before halftime with a shot from outside the area and Roma substitute Shomurodov levelled soon after the break from a rebound, blasting the ball in off the crossbar from close range.
Juve were held to a draw in new manager Igor Tudor’s second game in charge, after the former defender got off to a winning start last weekend with a 1-0 home victory over Genoa.
Juventus are fifth on 56 points after 31 games, level with fourth-placed Bologna who host second-placed Napoli on Monday.
Roma, unbeaten in the league since late December, sit seventh with 53 points and still hold realistic chances of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in seven years.
However, Claudio Ranieri’s men still have to face leaders Inter Milan, third-placed Atalanta, Fiorentina and AC Milan after travelling to sixth-placed Lazio next weekend.
Juventus started aggressively and Timothy Weah tested Roma keeper Mile Svilar from distance after three minutes.
Roma’s Bryan Cristante had a close-range attempt thwarted by a superb block from Juve defender Pierre Kalulu before Dusan Vlahovic threatened Roma’s goal with a header.
The hosts, without injured striker Paulo Dybala, came close to taking the lead through Stephan El Shaarawy, who hit the post with a header just before Locatelli gave Juventus the lead.
Kalulu’s cross was cleared from around the penalty spot, but the new Juventus captain fired a first-time shot inside the bottom corner.
Roma, who had no attempts on target in the opening half, equalised through halftime substitute Shomurodov in the 49th minute.
Evan Ndicka tested Juve keeper Michele Di Gregorio with a header from a corner and Shomurodov was in the right place to score from the follow-up.
