Bologna And Juve In Goalless Stalemate
ROME, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Bologna and Juventus fought out a goalless draw in a dour Italian Serie A match on Saturday evening, leaving both clubs satisfied with a point.
What should have been an exciting contest between two teams among the league leaders turned out to be a dull draw at the Dall'Ara Stadium in Bologna.
The first half included little goalmouth action, with few clear-cut chances.
In the 17th minute, Italy international Alessandro Del Piero worked a fine through ball down the right wing for Gianluca Zambrotta, whose shot was saved by Bologna goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca.
Moments later the home side threatened to strike as Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon rushed out to parry Fabio Pecchia's close-range volley.
Juventus were far more positive in the second half, upping the tempo and pressurising the Bologna defence.
Coach Marcello Lippi substituted midfielder Alessio Tacchinardi for forward Marcelo Salas in the 76th minute to try to bolster the Juventus attack.
The Chilean international suffered a knee injury after five minutes, though, and had to be stretchered off the pitch, leaving Juve with 10 men for the rest of the match.
All in all, a draw was the right result as both teams enjoyed periods of dominance but failed to produce the knockout punch when it really mattered.
Lippi was not surprised by the lack of scoring opportunities.
'It was expected, Bologna is a very strong club defensively,' Lippi said. 'They have conceded only three goals in seven league matches played.
'Playing every three days doesn't help either. We just finished playing an exhausting Champions League match on Wednesday and tonight we were back in action again against a club who is playing well and looking to continue their good form.'
With the draw, Bologna moved up to second in the table on 13 points, level with Chievo Verona who play on Sunday against Parma.
Juventus climbed to third on 12 points, one above AC Milan who meet leaders Inter in the Milan derby on Sunday evening.
