Late Lecce goal ensures draw against Juventus

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Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri opted for a more attacking 4-3-3.

New Delhi: Castillo's late goal earned a share of the spoils at the Stadio Olimpico, cancelling out the efforts of Nedeved.

Pre-Match News

Fans were allowed to the match after the decision on a home ban for Juventus for alleged racist chants was postponed to mid-May. Coach Claudio Ranieri opted for a more attacking 4-3-3, with Amauri grabbing his first star since returning from injury.

Meanwhile, Lecce boss Luigi De Canio had to do without influential midfielder Fabio Caserta due to injury.

First Half

Juventus started very much on the attack and after five minutes Fabiano just managed to slide the ball clear when both Amauri and Vincenzo were ready to tap-in.

However, it was Lecce who took the lead against the run of play! Guillermo Giacomazzi played a through ball to Axel Konan, who dummied the ball before calmly slotting past Gianluigi Buffon for his first goal of the campaign. The Bianconeri protested for a possible offside, but none was given.

The home side tried to hit back immediately, but the Salentini defense held firm, blocking shots by Amauri and Pavel Nedved. Olof Mellberg came close on a corner, heading just over the cross bar.

Alessandro Del Piero had been largely anonymous, but he skipped past the visitors' midfield, before playing a give-an-go with De Ceglie. His curling cross for an onrushing Nedved was only stopped by a desperate lunge from Edinho.

Juventus missed a golden chance on 28 minutes. Amauri did not get the proper contact on his header from Nedved's cross and Iaquinta arrived at back post only to see the ball bounce off him and out of play when he was just a couple years from the goal-line!

The Bianconeri were struggling to create clear cut opportunities and their efforts were earning jeers and whistles from the supporters. On the counter, Konan used his speed to get past Mellberg, but Simone Tiribocchi could not control his chip on the run and Buffon collected with ease.

As the half came to a close Claudio Ranieri's men nearly responded, Amauri performed some excellent hold-up play to earn a free-kick and Piturrichio's trademark set-piece effort crashed against the post!

Second Half

'The Tinkerman' made some changes to shore up the midfield at the outset of the second period, with Christian Poulsen replacing Del Piero and Marco Marchionni in place of Camoranesi for his usual 4-4-2 formation.

It seemed to be paying dividends, as the extra pressure from the Dane in midfield allowed Iaquinta to get free on the right and his low cross was parried away by Benussi at the feet of Amauri.

The Bianconeri found the equalizer with a well-worked move! Iaquinta flew down the right once again and Amauri laid off the ball for Nevded, who hammered it into the bottom corner from 18 yards on 53 minutes.

Italian international Iaquinta almost managed to give Juve the lead. controlling Poulsen's excellent lob, but he could not slip it under Benussi with pressure on his back.

Juventus did manage to turn things around through Nedved once again! The Czech veteran breezed into the box and fired Marchionni's chip into the net. Benuzzi got a hand to it, but it wasn't strong enough to keep the ball out.

The game was largely played in the midfield as Lecce found it more and more difficult to gain possession with the clock ticking. However, on 83' minutes the ball fell to Fabiano on a corner, who lashed an effort towards goal only to see it deflected by Buffon and then cleared off the line by Poulsen!

The World Cup winning goalkeeper was called into action once more, making an absolutely incredible save on Tiribocchi's low volley as the Giallorossi pressed for an equalizer in the dying moments.

The match ended in dramatic fashion as substitute Jose Castillo headed in an equalizer in the 93rd minute.

That was the extent of the action as Juventus remain without a win in five attempts and the Salentini grabbed a point in their battle against relegation.

Juventus 2-2 Lecce

Goals: 10' Konan (L), 53' Nedved (J), 67' Nedved (J), 93' Castillo (L)

Juventus (4-3-3): Buffon - Grygera (68' Zebina), Mellberg, Legrottaglie, De Ceglie - Camoranesi (46' Marchionni), Zanetti, Nedved - Iaquinta, Amauri, Del Piero (46' Poulsen).

Lecce (4-4-2): Benussi - Polenghi, Fabiano, Esposito, Giuliatto - Giacomazzi, Edinho, Vives (72' Papdopoulos), Ariatti (90' Basta) - Konan (81' Castillo), Tiribocchi.