Sassuolo vs Juventus. Italian Serie A.
Citta del Tricolore.
Wednesday 15 July 2020 23:56, UK
Cristiano Ronaldo's run of scoring ended as Juventus were held to a 3-3 draw at Sassuolo which stopped them moving nine points clear at the top of Serie A.
Having taken just two points from their last three games, Juventus are on 77 points with five games left, seven ahead of second-placed Atalanta - who thumped Brescia 6-2 on Tuesday.
Juventus got off to a fast start when Danilo and Gonzalo Higuain scored in the opening 12 minutes, but Filip Djuricic's goal in the 29th minute signalled the start of a spirited fightback by the home side.
Goals from Domenico Berardi and Francesco Caputo put Sassuolo 3-2 up early in the second half but Alex Sandro produced a bullet header in the 64th minute to secure a point for Juve, who are chasing their ninth league title in a row.
Lazio's unhappy run continued with a lacklustre 0-0 draw at Udinese, although they at least avoided a fourth successive Serie A defeat thanks to goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha and the post which denied Rodrigo De Paul a late winner.
Apart from the point, there was little for coach Simone Inzaghi to cheer after another tired, uninspired display by his side whose title challenge has petered out in the last month.
Lazio, who were only one point behind leaders Juventus when the season restarted one month ago, have 69 points and are now eight adrift of the Turin side in third.
AC Milan produced another comeback act as they scored three times after the break to beat Parma 3-1 and remain undefeated since the season resumed.
Jasmin Kurtic gave Parma the lead one minute before half time but Franck Kessie levelled 10 minutes into the second half with a ferocious effort from 25 metres.
Alessio Romagnoli headed Milan in front four minutes later, Hakan Calhanoglu added a third but Zlatan Ibrahimovic failed to get in on the act when he headed wide from a Kessie cross.
Milan stayed seventh with 53 points which will be enough to qualify for the Europa League provided Napoli, who are currently sixth and have booked their place by winning the Coppa Italia, finish in the top six.
Gambia striker Musa Barrow netted an equaliser 10 minutes from full time as unlucky Bologna held Napoli to a 1-1 home Serie A draw.
Barrow scored his fifth goal in the last six games to earn his side a deserved point in a game in which they also had two goals ruled out by VAR for marginal offside decisions.
Kostas Manolas netted an early goal for Napoli, who move to 53 points from 33 games, realistically out of the running for the Champions League qualification places but having already secured a Europa League place via their Italian Cup win last month.
That result allowed Roma to tighten their grip on fifth place with a 2-1 win over Hellas Verona, courtesy of a pair of first-half goals.
Jordan Veretout put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, and deep into injury time Edin Dzeko doubled the advantage.
Matteo Pessina's goal inside two minutes of the restart gave Roma some concern after half-time, but they hung on to move four points clear of Napoli.
Federico Bonazzoli scored twice, including another acrobatic volley, to help Sampdoria to a 3-0 win over Cagliari which moved Claudio Ranieri's side closer to safety in Serie A.
Samp, who began the day six points clear of the danger zone and moved up to 38 points, have won four of their last five league games.
Manolo Gabbiadini gave Sampdoria the lead in the eighth minute when he headed in from Jakub Jankto's cross and Bonazzoli added a second on the break four minutes before half time.
Bonazzoli, who scored with an overhead kick in the 3-1 win at Udinese on Sunday, repeated the trick in the 53rd minute, meeting Jankto's cross with a flying volley at the far post.
Elsewhere, Fiorentina did little to ease Lecce's relegation worries with a 3-1 win at the 18th-placed side.
Federico Chiesa put the visitors ahead early on, before Rachid Ghezzal and Patrick Cutrone's quick-fire goals put them three ahead by the break.
Yehven Shakhov gave Lecce a consolation late on, but they remain a point adrift of 17th-placed Genoa.
