ROME (AP) – Even on a night when Juventus were outperfinished for long periods, the nine-time Serie A protective champion controlled to add a point in the 2–2 draw in Rome on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice, adding a draw at the time with an imposing headbutt after Juventus were reduced to 10, while Jordan Veretout had a double for Roma.
“We came back here, even after the red card, ” said Ronaldo. “At the end of the season, this can become a point. “
Veretout put Roma ahead in the 31st with a penalty off a hand from Adrien Rabiot, who was looking to block a Veretout shot.
Ronaldo tied on the spot after Lorenzo Pellegrini used his arm to block the five-time Golden Ball winner.
Veretout scored his moment in overtime in the first half when Roma beat veteran Juventus but center-backs Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini. Henrikh Mkhitaryan escaped down the left wing and crossed for Veretout, who took advantage of a throw-in to get away from a defender before shooting past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny.
Juventus were reduced to 10 men at 62 when Rabiot picked up his yellow card for kicking his boot in Mkhitaryan’s left thigh.
Moments earlier, Roma forward Edin Džeko fired from the side when his marker had already fallen to the ground.
Then the Juve had to match when Ronaldo flew straight to goalkeeper Antonio Mirante.
Ronaldo nevertheless discovered the goal at 69 when he took the lead with a Danilo centre, giving him 3 goals in juve’s first two games.
“We are at the start of the season and there is a new coach (Andrea Pirlo) with new ideas,” Ronaldo said. “But I see that the team is working well, enthusiastically and I see a long and brilliant career for us. “
It was the first point of this season for Roma, which suffered a 3-0 defeat in his first match last weekend at Hellas Verona for an ineligible player. The match ended 0-0.
Juventus, which beat Sampdoria 3-0 in their first match, is a two-time striker for Serie A, Napoli, Verona and AC Milan.
A limit of 1000 enthusiasts is allowed for football matches in Italy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Neas
Hirving Lozano scored two goals while Napoli beat Genoa 6-0 in an attack that had been delayed by a positive result from the coronavirus.
The start of the match was postponed 3 hours after Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin tested positive, prompting a new round of retirements on Saturday and delayed the team’s arrival in Naples. Genoa midfielder Lasse Schon also tested positive.
Napoli won 1-0 at halftime after Dries Mertens prepared Lozano for the first game in the minute.
Piotr Zielinski scored seconds after the resumption and Mertens scored before Lozano doubled his score.
Goals from Elif Elmas and Matteo Politano crowned a wonderful night for Napoli, who will arrive at Juventus next week.
Napoli striker Lorenzo Insigne is now in doubt after injuring his thigh in the first half.
Fear of injury
There was bad news for AC Milan too, with forward Ante Rebio forced off the field due to an imaginable dislocation of his elbow in the Rossoneri 2-0 win over newly promoted Crotone.
Milan is already striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
Franck Kessié traded a penalty for Milan in a half-time serve and Brahim Daaz doubled the away lead five minutes after half-time with his first goal for the club.
Returning to last season, Milan extended their unbeathed streak to 17 games in all competitions, the first time they reached that number since 1996 with Fabio Capello, when they played 27 matches defeated.
OTHER PARTIES
Andrey Galabinov scored Spezia’s first Serie A goal, losing his first match in the Italian elite 4–1 at home to Sassuolo.
Verona beat Udinese 1-0.
___
Matar returns from Milan.
___
More AP Football: https://apnews. com/Soccer and https://twitter. com/AP_Sports