Juventus stutter again as Ronaldo secures Torino draw

Juventus needed a 79th-minute equaliser from Cristiano Ronaldo to rescue a 2-2 draw in the Turin derby against relegation battling Torino on Saturday, leaving the champions’ Serie A title defence in tatters.

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The pressure was on Andrea Pirlo’s side to produce a convincing performance after suffering a 1-0 loss to lowly Benevento before the international break, and they started strongly as Federico Chiesa scored after 13 minutes.

But striker Antonio Sanabria soon headed Torino level, before latching onto a careless Dejan Kulusevski backpass to fire his side in front in the opening minute of the second half.

Ronaldo headed in from close range to equalise but he was flagged for offside, before a VAR review overturned the decision and allowed the goal.

Juve slipped to fourth place on 56 points, nine behind leaders Inter, who face Bologna later on Saturday.

Torino moved onto 24 points, two clear of the relegation zone in 17th place.