Juventus blows another lead to draw at Atalanta
Juventus was again held in Serie A as it drew 1-1 at Atalanta in a result that did little to aid either side's ambitions in the competition.
The Bianconeri have now drawn 13 times in the league this season, staying unbeaten but in fifth place as a result of so many one-point results.
Yet Atalanta, nine points ahead in third, has also now drawn three in a row, even if it was a little more grateful for this point after a late Mateo Retegui equaliser.
Pierre Kalulu had broken the deadlock for Juve nine minutes after half-time, finishing Weston McKennie's pass into the box by sliding the ball past onrushing goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi at the near post.
However, Atalanta built momentum and substitute Retegui, returning from injury, levelled with a diving header from Raoul Bellanova's assist in the 78th minute.
This is only the second time in the three-points-for-a-win era a team have drawn as many as 13 of its first 20 matches in a Serie A season, with Inter Milan going one better in 2004-2005 by drawing 14.
Juve may be 13 points off the pace, but it would undoubtedly be in the title picture if even a handful of these frustrating stalemates had instead been victories.
Yet the same is increasingly becoming true of Atalanta.
After drawing three in a row for the first time since May 2017, La Dea is four points back from league leader Napoli and only level on points with an Inter side which now has two games in hand.
Juventus boss Thiago Motta conceded his side's' growing tally of draws is seeing the club fall short of expectations across all competitions this season.
While Motta is the second manager in Juventus history to remain unbeaten in his first 20 Serie A games, he was left to rue yet another league stalemate.
"It's clear that we can't be happy with the result. We go on the pitch to win," Motta said. "We played well, created some interesting situations, but we weren't good enough to score.
"It's true that we have drawn a lot this season and are not happy about that, we cannot be happy with a draw. However, they [the players] performed well. I have to acknowledge the effort and the performance.
"Now we have an important match against a great team, we need to recover well," he added, referring to the visit of seventh-placed [AC] Milan on Saturday [Sunday AEDT].
Motta also failed to confirm whether Dusan Vlahovic would be ready for this weekend's clash with Sergio Conceicao's side.
Vlahovic, who has scored 12 goals in 23 appearances across all competitions this season, missed the draw against Atalanta with muscle fatigue.
The Juventus boss also brushed aside rumours in the Italian media that wantaway Paris Saint-Germain striker Randal Kolo Muani had signed a six-month loan deal.
"I do not talk about the transfer market. Dusan is recovering, he is not at 100 per cent, and we cannot risk losing him for longer, so we’ll see what happens over the next three days," Motta said.
Kalulu, who became the third French defender to score for Juventus in Serie A after Lilian Thuram (one) and Patrice Evra (three), also acknowledged his side must improve.
"A good evening at the beginning, then this goal conceded overshadows everything a bit. We always have to do something more to get points," the defender said.
