MILAN (AP) — It was another chaotic day for Juventus on Sunday.
A late Razvan Marin penalty saw visitors Cagliari rescue a 1-1 draw in Serie A.
That was the first goal Juventus had conceded in the league this season. To add insult to injury, Juventus winger Francisco Conceição was sent off moments later following a second yellow card.
Juventus nevertheless became the only unbeaten team in Serie A after Empoli lost 2-1 at Lazio. Later Sunday Roma and AC Milan were playing at Monza and Fiorentina, respectively.
It had been a drama-filled week on and off the field for Juventus, which fought back from 2-1 down with 10 men to win 3-2 at Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Much of the talk before the match had been about midfielder Paul Pogba’s four-year ban for doping being reduced to 18 months on Friday.
Juventus sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli didn’t seem too keen to welcome the France World Cup winner back when asked about Pogba before the match.
Pogba, who will be free to resume his career in March, was watching from the stands.
Juventus took the lead in the 15th minute when Dusan Vlahovic drilled a penalty into the bottom right corner after Cagliari defender Sebastiano Luperto was adjudged to have handled the ball.
The Juventus players rushed to the touchline to celebrate by holding up Gleison Bremer’s shirt following their teammate’s serious injury midweek.
Just as it seemed Juventus was heading for the win, the visitors were awarded a penalty of their own after Bianconeri midfielder Douglas Luiz collided with Cagliari forward Roberto Piccoli.
Marin struck the spotkick into the top left corner to level the game with two minutes remaining.
Less than a minute later Conceição went down in the penalty area after feeling Adam Obert’s hand on his shoulder. He was immediately shown a second yellow card for simulation and dismissed.
Cagliari almost completed the fightback in the fifth minute of stoppage time but Obert’s strike came off the near post.
First loss
Lazio missed a penalty but still fought back to become the first team to beat Empoli this season for a fourth straight win in all competitions.
Mattia Zaccagni headed Lazio level in first-half stoppage time to cancel out Sebastiano Esposito's early goal and it seemed as if the home side would turn the match around immediately after the interval when Empoli defender Giuseppe Pezzella tripped Boulaye Dia in the penalty area.
However, Devis Vásquez parried Taty Castellanos' spot kick and the forward nodded the rebound over.
Lazio scored what was to prove the winner six minutes from time when substitute Pedro raced onto Castellanos' through ball and thumped it in off the underside of the crossbar from a tight angle.
Bologna was held to a 0-0 draw by Parma despite the visitors playing most of the second half in 10 men after defender Woyo Coulibaly was shown a straight red card for a dangerous tackle.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Daniella Matar, The Associated Press
