ROME (AP) – A loss at home to promoted Benevento. A draw with city rival Torino. Another defeat at Atalanta.
And now a 1-1 draw at relegation-threatened Fiorentina.
There’s been nothing “super” over the past six rounds from nine-time defending Serie A champion Juventus, one of the clubs leading the charge for the breakaway Super League. It was almost laughable when hotly sought transfer target Dušan Vlahović put Fiorentina ahead with a softly struck “Panenka”-style penalty kick midway through the first half Sunday. Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny was left helpless on the ground as Vlahović’s effort sailed over him into the center of the goal.
This season, it was the 17th goal for the 21-year-old Vlahović, linked with a move to AC Milan. “It was a terrible first half. We should have started differently because this was a real game in the race for the Champions League places,” Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo said. “But we were too slow, our spacing was all wrong, and we were always second to the ball.
“The second half was a bit better,” Pirlo added.
Halftime substitute Álvaro Morata equalized for Juventus 31 seconds after the break from the right flank. It appeared that the Spanish forward was attempting to cross, but the ball surprised Fiorentina goalkeeper Bartłomiej Drągowski, who could only get a weak hand on it before it sailed into the far corner. Cristiano Ronaldo had a chance for a possible winner but appeared to misjudge his effort to head in a cross from Dejan Kulusevski and completely missed the ball.
Juventus also struggled against Fiorentina in December, losing 3-0 at home.
The draw did little to boost Juve’s chances of securing a top-four position and a Champions League place, with four clubs vying for three spots: second-place AC Milan (66 points), Juventus (66), Atalanta (65), and Napoli (63).
Atalanta was hosting Bologna later, while Milan and Napoli play Monday.
“You learn with every game that goes by, but I am not happy considering the initial expectations, and I don’t think the club is either,” said Pirlo, who is in his first season as a coach.
TITLE RUN
Inter Milan moved closer to its first title in over a decade with a 1-0 win over Hellas Verona.
The victory moved the Nerazzurri 13 points clear of Milan and Juventus with five rounds remaining.
Inter, which had drawn its previous two games, extended its unbeaten run to 17 matches. Inter full-back Matteo Darmian took a through ball from Achraf Hakimi and scored with a low, angled shot in the 76th. Having joined on loan from Parma in October, Darmian scored a decisive goal earlier this month in a 1-0 win over Cagliari.
Also, mid-table Udinese won 4-2 at relegation-threatened Benevento.
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Andrew Dampf is at https://twitter.com/AndrewDampf.
Sign up for Daily Newsletters
Copyright © 2021 The Washington Times, LLC.
