Paris
Dejan Kulusevski came off the bench to rescue a point as champions Juventus, playing without Cristiano Ronaldo, were held to a third Serie A stalemate at home against Hellas Verona on Sunday. Portuguese forward Ronaldo remains absent after testing positive for coronavirus with Juventus preparing for next week’s Champions League tie against Barcelona in Turin. “We had a too wait-and-see first half, we weren’t very aggressive with the midfielders but we had the most dangerous opportunities,” said Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo. Substitute Andrea Favilli put Verona ahead after an hour in Turin but Swedish forward Kulusevski rescued Pirlo with 13 minutes to go. “In the second half after the goal there was a good response, but we shouldn’t need a slap in the face to wake us up. “When you play against Verona it’s hard for everyone, but we could have done better.” To add to Pirlo’s problems before hosting Barcelona, defender Leonardo Bonucci went off with a thigh problem. Veteran Giorgio Chiellini is already out. “He had already felt something on Tuesday (against Dynamo Kiev), he felt something again today,” said Pirlo. “We will evaluate it tomorrow, calmly.” Juventus are fifth in Serie A, three points behind leaders AC Milan, who host Roma on Monday. The nine-time reigning champions have stalled under new coach Pirlo after winning their opener against Sampdoria, their only victory on the pitch in Serie A this season.—AFP
