How Costly Could Lazio Draw Be For Juventus In Champions League Race?

With the top of the Serie A table already looking extremely condensed, Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw by Lazio, a result that could prove costly in the race of UEFA Champions League places.

Going into the weekend, third-placed Atalanta had a five-point cushion over their rivals for those spots, with Juve, Lazio and AS Roma all tied on 63 points and Bologna sitting on 62.

The fixture list added further intrigue to that race, Atalanta facing Roma on Monday evening while Juve headed to the Italian capital on Saturday evening to take on a Lazio side that was on a six-game unbeaten run.

Juventus injury problems continue

Desperate for the boost a Champions League berth would provide in both financial terms and the prestige of playing in Europe’s elite competition, a lengthy injury list continues to hamper Juve’s hopes of securing that all important top four finish.

Igor Tudor was once again without key defenders Gleison Bremer, Andrea Cambiaso and Juan Cabal, with that trio joined in the treatment room by Teun Koopmeiners, Lloyd Kelly and Arek Milik.

Kenan Yildiz was also suspended, and Lazio started the game in electric fashion, Matteo Guendouzi sending Fisayo Dele-Bashiru away down the right, the former Sheffield Wednesday man drawing a good save from Michele Di Gregorio with less than two minutes on the clock.

The Juve goalkeeper was back in action to deal with an awkward ball into the box from Gustav Isaksen, while it took a well-timed slide tackle from Pierre Kalulu to stop Dele-Bashiru breaking away again.

Tudor was furious as the two teams went down the tunnel at half time, with Nico González’s poor performance reportedly attracting the most ire. The Argentina international repeatedly lost possession and produced very little when he did retain the ball, the Juve boss unsurprisingly replacing him with Francisco Conceição during the break.

Juventus waste another lead

The Bianconeri would take the lead early in the second half, a smart cross from Weston McKennie picking out Randal Kolo Muani who made no mistake from close range to grab his 7th Serie A goal in just 14 appearances.

Yet having done so well to get themselves ahead, Juve would once again throw it away. As Taty Castellanos challenged Kalulu, the French defender needlessly punched him in the back.

Just as it had for Kenan Yildiz against Monza, a VAR review led to an inevitable red card and Lazio were instantly back in the game. Di Gregorio made superb saves from Mario Gila and Pedro before Renato Veiga somehow found a way to stop Boulaye Dia getting on the end of a Luca Pellegrini cross.

Juve held firm, although it took another VAR review to overturn a penalty when a woeful back pass from Nicoló Savona led to Di Gregorio wiping out Castellanos, the forward ruled to have been offside.

The Juve keeper remained centre stage as the game went into injury time, tipping a shot from Boulaye Dia onto the post. But, in the sixth minute of stoppages, Di Gregorio made yet another fantastic save to deny Castellanos only to find himself powerless to prevent Matias Vecino tapping home the rebound.

Juventus need help in top four race

The result ultimately leaves Juventus in fourth, pending Roma’s result against Atalanta. With a win, the Giallorossi would go above their Turin-based rivals, while a draw would leave them behind Juve on goal difference.

After that game, every side will have just two matches left to play. The Bianconeri take on Udinese next weekend and then Venezia on the final day, Roma face AC Milan and Torino while Lazio have meetings with title-chasers Inter and Lecce.