Draw specialists Juventus hold AS Roma to climb table

A 1-1 stalemate in the Italian capital lifted the Bianconeri into fourth position and an automatic Champions League berth with seven Serie A matches remaining.
Juve's Manuel Locatelli broke the deadlock against AS Roma
Juve's Manuel Locatelli broke the deadlock against AS Roma | Silvia Lore/GettyImages

Manuel Locatelli’s 40th-minute goal was cancelled out by Eldor Shomurodov early second half strike, which maintained a three-point buffer between Juventus and I Giallorossi in the club's chase for a coveted top four finish.

This clash in the Italian capital was billed as the big test for Juventus interim manager Igor Tudor. He opted to partner his favorite Serie A striker Dusan Vlahovic with emerging talent Kenan Yildiz, but neither were able to find the back of the net.

Defences were on top inside the Stadio Olimpico for Sunday’s Serie A showdown, with Juve dominating the opening half but surprisingly run ragged after the turnaround.

Tudor had already kicked off the weekend with what appeared to be mind games by being unconvinced by Yildiz during his pre-match press conference. That was despite the Turkish teenager snatching the only goal in Tudor’s maiden match at the helm for the victory over Genoa.

This was always anticipated to be a cagey contest, full of very few goals, as Roma had also only picked up a 1-0 win in their previous outing. Artem Dovbyk’s strike against Lecce had been enough to extend Claudio Ranieri’s troops to a remarkable seventh Serie A triumph on the spin.

With both teams in the mix for Champions League qualification by ending the season in the top four, draw specialists Juventus came out on the attack from the first whistle.

Roma shotstopper overworked

Home ‘keeper Mile Svilar was called into early action to deny Timothy Weah’s long-range effort, and made a diving save to prevent Khephren Thuram’s shot from outside the box finding the bottom left corner.

Juve pressed forward, with Vlahovic narrowly wide of the target on the quarter-of-an-hour mark. The Roma defence stood firm and protected their 'keeper until Svilar stopped Nicolas Gonzalez’s header from Weah’s telling cross midway through the first half.

Vlahovic should have done better just after half an hour, and the visitors’ inability to break the deadlock almost proved costly when Stephan El Shaarawy’s header hit the left upright on 37 minutes.

Locatelli silenced home fans

This near miss jolted Juve to push forward, with Locatelli opening the scoring with a long-range shot into the bottom left corner. Roma’s best response before the interval was Evan Ndicka’s header from Angelino’s corner, but the defender nodded it wide of the target.

Roma came out all guns blazing. Michele Di Gregorio saved Ndickas’ header, but was unable to prevent Shomurodov’s six-yarder from finding the top right corner on 49 minutes to send the home fans into a frenzy and put a smile on Ranieri's face.

Juve battled back, with Svilar denying Weston McKennie’s angled effort before Tudor made a triple substitution on 69 minutes to up the ante. Kolo Muani was brought on for Vlahovic, Teun Koopmeiners came on for Gonzalez and Andrea Cambiaso replaced Weah.

The visitors threw on Nicolo Savona for Locatelli with quarter-of-an-hour remaining, but the Roma back four stood resolute. Ranieri hauled off ineffective Dovbyk, who was man-marked out of the tussle, with attacking midfielder Tommaso Baldanzi given a five-minute run out.

Victory propelled Juve into fourth place on goal difference over in-form Bologna, who face high-flying Atalanta on Monday. Atalanta still have a shot at winning the Scudetto with Inter Milan and Napoli also in the mix.

The stalemate means that Tudor remains unbeaten in his two matches at the helm. Yet the no-nonsense Croatian will appreciate that he will require more firepower to tackle Juve's final seven games to push for Champions League soccer next term.

Tudor: "We are not happy"

Tudor admitted that there were positives and negatives after the match, and revealed: "I really liked the first-half performance, in which we did some very interesting things.

"Then they [Roma] grew into the game and equalised. We must concede fewer chances. We closed out the match, looking for the winner, and that is a good sign.

"There is still room for improvement. We are not happy because we didn't win, but this is a game that gives us confidence."

SERIE A TABLE (5 April 2025)

1. INTER MILAN | Played 31, Goal difference +39, Points 68

2. NAPOLI | Played 30, Goal difference +23, Points 64

3. ATALANTA | Played 31, Goal difference +33, Points 58

5. JUVENTUS | Played 31, Goal difference +18, Points 56

5. BOLOGNA | Played 30, Goal difference +16, Points 56

6. AS ROMA | Played 31, Goal difference +15, Points 52

7. FIORENTINA | Played 31, Goal difference +17, Points 52

8. LAZIO | Played 31, Goal difference +10, Points 55

9. AC MILAN | Played 31, Goal difference +10, Points 48

Fifth position at the end of the season will clinch a Europa League berth, while finishing sixth will earn an Italian team a place in the Conference League qualifiers.

IGOR TUDOR’S NINE SERIE A GAMES AT JUVENTUS

29 March (home) | Genoa | 1-0

6 April (away) | AS Roma | 2-2 

12 April (home) | Lecce (currently 17th)

21 April (away) | Parma (currently 16th)

27 April (home) | Monza (currently 20th)

4 May (away) | Bologna (currently 4th)

11 May (away) | Lazio (currently 6th)

18 May (home) | Udinese (currently 18th)

25 May (away) | Venezia (currently 19th)