Juve held to goalless derby draw

Eighteen derbies without defeat for Juventus, who played out a goalless draw in the season’s second Turin derby. The Bianconeri came closest to opening the scoring in the first half. Dusan Vlahovic hit the post then had a second shot saved by Vanja Milinkovic Savic.

The Torino goalkeeper then denied Kenan Yildiz in the second half to ensure the Granata held out Juve for the first time in 16 attempts at the Olimpico.

THE MATCH

Soaring temperatures inside a passionate Olimpico Grande Torino welcomed the teams out for the 158th Serie A Derby della Mole.

Juventus, on the scoresheet in each of the previous 15 visits to Toro, came close to an early breakthrough. With just seven minutes on the clock Federico Chiesa left the Granata defence in his wake as he accelerated down the right flank. His cross was met inside the six-yard box by Dusan Vlahovic, who could only watch in disbelief as his shot cannoned off the post.

The Bianconeri were on top in the opening half hour and although chances were few and far between, carved open the home defence for a second time on 14 minutes.

Tight passing play saw Juve work their way into the opposition penalty area. Andrea Cambiaso laid the ball off to Manuel Locatelli, whose shot was always rising over the bar.

On 31 minutes another glorious chance fell to Vlahovic. Federico Gatti dropped the shoulder to make space for the cross, which evaded Weston McKennie in full flight. The ball, however, fell to Vlahovic who reacted quickly to release his shot, blocked by Vanja Milinkovic Savic.

Torino’s first effort arrived on 43 minutes when Nikola Vlasic headed wide, but the hosts carried their momentum into the second half when inside the first minute Duvan Zapata had the ball in the back of the net but play had already been stopped for a foul by Raoul Bellanova on Filip Kostic.

Szczesny was then forced into his first true save on the hour when he parried a Tonny Sanabria header.

The Bianconeri's best chance in the second half came when Kenan Yildiz finished off a smart counter attack. The teenager’s curling effort produced a spectacular one-handed save by Milinkovic.

The last chance, however, fell to the Granata when Valentino Lazaro headed a dangerous cross over the crossbar.

After a fifth away fixture without a win, Juventus have an opportunity to turn the tide next Friday at Cagliari.

TORINO 0-0 JUVENTUS (HT: 0-0)

TORINO: Milinkovic-Savic; Tameze, Buongiorno, Rodriguez; Bellanova (84′ Masina), Ricci, Linetty, Vojvoda (76′ Lazaro); Vlasic; Sanabria (76′ Okereke), Zapata. Subs not used: Gemello, Popa, Lovato, Ilic, Sazonov, Kabic, Sava, Ciammaglichella. Coach: Juric.

JUVENTUS: Szczęsny; Gatti (77′ Alex Sandro), Bremer, Danilo; Cambiaso (94′ Alcaraz), McKennie, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic (63′ Iling Jr); Vlahovic (77′ Kean), Chiesa (63′ Yildiz). Subs not used: Pinsoglio, Perin, De Sciglio, Rugani, Djalò, Miretti, Weah, Nicolussi Caviglia. Coach: Allegri.

Referee: Maresca

Bookings: 43′ Gatti, 47′ Ricci, 49′ Vojvoda, 69′ Cambiaso