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VERONA, Italy: Winless Hellas Verona ended Juventus’s three-match winning streak in Serie A with a 1-1 draw on Saturday as Gift Orban’s equalizer from the penalty spot in the 44th minute canceled out Francisco Conceicao’s early strike.
Juventus, who drew 4-4 with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday, moved to 10 points from four matches, while Verona have three points after the same number of games.
“Yes, the team was tired,” Juventus coach Igor Tudor told reporters. “This is a different kind of football and we lacked energy. I have nothing to say. Even those who came on showed desire but there was no freshness.”
Two yellow cards in the first nine minutes set the tone for the contest, as Verona’s Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro was booked for a foul on Conceicao shortly before Juventus defender Federico Gatti was cautioned for pushing Domagoj Bradaric.
Orban almost put the hosts ahead in the 11th minute when he intercepted Gatti’s back pass but Juventus keeper Michele Di Gregorio came out to block the Nigerian’s shot.
Juventus were unrelenting in their pursuit of an early goal, as Conceicao failed to score off Kenan Yildiz’s pass and Joao Mario headed wide from Andrea Cambiaso’s cross.
Conceicao, making his first appearance since suffering a muscle injury earlier this month, broke through in the 19th minute when he picked up Khephren Thuram’s pass and cut in from the right, dribbling past two Verona players before finishing with his left foot from the edge of the box.

ORBAN EQUALISES
Verona, however, stayed calm and almost got an equalizer near the half-hour mark when Suat Serdar tried to find the net from 20 meters but his shot was blocked.
The hosts finally equalized when a handball by Mario got them a penalty. Di Gregorio got his hand on Orban’s spot kick but the deflected ball still went in.
Juventus looked for an immediate response early in the second half but Verona keeper Lorenzo Montipo kept out Dusan Vlahovic’s shot off Mario’s throw-in in the 51st minute.
The hosts thought they had taken the lead when Serdar found the net with a header in the 67th minute but a VAR replay ruled him offside.
Verona remained dangerous, with Orban narrowly missing the target off Rafik Belghali’s pass in the 73rd minute and Di Gregorio denying Martin Frese with a diving save soon after, as the visitors held on to secure the draw.
“We knew that Verona are strong at home, we lost a few too many balls which can be explained by the fact that we play every three days,” Conceicao said.
“Big teams have a lot of games to play and we have to bounce back immediately because Juventus have to win every game.”
Juventus host Atalanta next Saturday, a day before Verona continue their league campaign at AS Roma.

LONDON: West Ham United fans staged demonstrations against the club’s owners before their home Premier League derby against Crystal Palace on Saturday and a 2-1 defeat at the London Stadium only added to the early-season gloom at the club.
West Ham’s fourth defeat in five games left them third from bottom and with manager Graham Potter under increasing pressure.
Since being appointed as Julen Lopetegui’s successor in January, Potter has overseen only six league wins from 25 games.
By the final whistle there were swathes of empty seats and the cheers of the Palace fans was in marked contrast to the dejection of the home fans who had stayed to the end.
Thousands of them had gathered two hours before kickoff for two separate protests against the running of the club by chairman David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady.
Many carried banners calling for change at the club which has been under the control of Sullivan and Brady since 2010.

“Sold our soul — 15 years of destroying West Ham United,” one banner said, relating to the club’s move away from its atmospheric Upton Park to the London Olympic stadium in 2016.
“Sold us a dream, we are living the nightmare,” another read.
The protests, organized by fan groups Hammers United and Crossed Hammers, came two weeks after West Ham’s Fan Advisory Board issued a vote of no confidence in the club board, accusing them of not capitalizing on the club’s UEFA Conference League triumph in 2023 and of providing a poor match-day experience.
In response, the club said it had taken steps to implement a new strategy and approach — particularly in the area of player recruitment and appointing Potter as head coach.
While West Ham’s woes continue, Palace are flying high with nine points from their opening five games.
Jean-Philippe Mateta nodded in a rebound after goalkeeper Alphonse Areola had pushed Marc Guehi’s header against the bar in the 37th minute.
There were boos from the home fans at halftime but the mood was briefly raised when Jarrod Bowen equalized with a header soon after the interval.
But Tyrick Mitchell slammed in a volley to win it for Palace.
Another protest by West Ham fans is planned for the home game against Brentford on Oct. 20.