Ronaldo rises late to salvage derby draw
It took 84 minutes, but once again Juventus was thankful for Cristiano Ronaldo, who popped up to score six minutes from time to salvage a 1-1 Serie A draw for Juventus against Torino.
The neighbourly visitors looked set for a first win at the Old Lady's home ground since 1995 thanks to Sasa Lukic's first goal for the club.
But Ronaldo, who blasted an effort just wide in the in a frustrating first-half, climbed highest in the box to head home from six yards to preserve his team's unbeaten home record in Serie A this season.
The point was less than deserved, with Torino showing superb resolve at the back to keep the Bianconeri at bay, soaking up a second half of almost relentless pressure until Ronaldo scored.
His goal aside, a campaign that saw Juve win an eighth successive Scudetto is not ending in triumphant fashion, with the win over Fiorentina on 21 April (AEST) — a result that confirmed the title — the only success in the past six games across all competitions.
Torino, meanwhile, is still fighting for a UEFA Champions League spot, and looked to be the side with more to play for throughout.
After Andrea Belotti had tested Wojciech Szczesny with an early angled drive, the visitors went ahead after 18 minutes through Lukic, who pounced on Joao Cancelo's sloppy throw-in, shrugged Miralem Pjanic off the ball, and curled the ball past Szczesny with the coolest of finishes.
Juve immediately looked to hit back, Blaise Matiuidi's volley pawed away by Salvatore Sirigu before Ronaldo fizzed a long-range shot just wide.
Moise Kean, paired up front with Ronaldo for the first time, had a quiet game until the 77th-minute, when he spun and got a shot away, but it was too close to Sirigu to force an equaliser.
That task eventually came Ronaldo's way when he rose above the exhausted Torino defence to convert Spinazzola's cross from the left wing, netting his 21st league goal of the campaign and earning a point for the hosts.
