Juventus missed a late penalty to draw 1-1 with Lecce, leaving them five points behind Serie A leaders AC Milan after Jonathan David’s panenka was saved
JUVENTUS missed a crucial late penalty to settle for a 1-1 draw with Lecce in Serie A on Saturday.
Canada striker Jonathan David saw his 89th-minute panenka chip saved by Lecce goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone.
The result leaves Juventus five points behind league leaders AC Milan, having played one game more.
Lecce took a surprise lead on the stroke of half-time through Lameck Banda’s fine finish into the top corner.
Weston McKennie equalised for the hosts shortly after the restart.
Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti defended David’s decision to take the penalty.
“He is one of our penalty-takers, he takes them well, he showed that he has character to shoot down the middle and he did what he had to do,” Spalletti said.
The draw ended Juventus’s run of three straight Serie A wins.
They moved up to fourth place on goal difference after Atalanta beat Roma 1-0.
AC Milan won 1-0 at Cagliari on Friday, while Inter Milan can leapfrog them with a victory over Bologna on Sunday.
