TURIN, Italy (Reuters) -Thiago Motta’s Juventus dropped their first points of the campaign as they were held to a goalless draw by visiting AS Roma in Serie A on Sunday.
After back-to-back 3-0 victories against Como and Hellas Verona, Juventus are second in the standings, level on seven points with leaders Inter Milan as well as Torino and Udinese.
They were the only team in the Italian top flight with a maximum points tally after the previous round of games.
Both sides started with an initial spark but made mistakes and led to no clear chances.
The most promising opportunity arrived just before the break when Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic struck with first touch from around the penalty spot but Roma keeper Mile Svilar did well to thwart his effort.
The shot remained Juve’s only attempt on target throughout the game while Roma managed to stand up to the hosts.
Motta tried to shake things up at halftime as he made two offensive changes, introducing new arrival Teun Koopmeiners for his debut alongside striker Francisco Conceicao.
Roma coach Daniele De Rossi also made some substitutions after the hour mark by letting striker Paulo Dybala in place of midfielder Matias Soule and Nicola Zalewski for Alexis Saelemaekers.
But the clash only got more lively in the closing minutes, with both sides desperately seeking a last-minute winner.
Angelino fired from a distance just wide for Roma and Juve’s Kenan Yildiz sent his effort above the bar in stoppage time.
Roma moved out of the drop zone to 17th with two points, after they picked up a point in a goalless stalemate at Cagliari followed by last week’s 2-1 home loss to Empoli.
They failed to win any of their first three Serie A games for two seasons in a row for only the second time in club’s history, the first taking place between 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Juventus travel to Empoli after the international break before they host PSV Eindhoven on Sept. 17 in their return to the Champions League following a one-year absence.
Roma next visit 10th-placed Genoa.
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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