BOLOGNA, Italy :Juventus played out a tense 1-1 Serie A draw at top-four rivals Bologna on Sunday, as the visitors missed the chance to cement fourth place in the chaotic race for Champions League qualification.
With leaders Napoli and Inter Milan locked in a fierce battle for the title on 77 and 74 points respectively, and Atalanta holding third with 68, attention is turning to the increasingly tense scrap for the final Champions League spot.
Juve sit fourth with 63 points, level with AS Roma and Lazio in fifth and sixth, while Bologna are seventh, one point behind, with three rounds remaining.
Khephren Thuram gave Juve a flying start after nine minutes, picking up the ball outside the box, spotting a gap in the Bologna defence and drilling a low shot that slipped beneath keeper Lukasz Skorupski.
Juve had several chances to double their lead and even put the ball in the net twice, but both efforts were ruled out for offside.
Instead Bologna levelled nine minutes into the second half, as Remo Freuler capitalised on a scrappy sequence following a cross and fired the ball home.
The hosts dominated late on and had a golden opportunity to seal it in the final seconds, but Lewis Ferguson squandered the chance, firing well over the bar from inside the box.
A Boulaye Dia goal in the first minute gave Lazio a 1–0 win at Empoli, with both sides having a player sent off in a heated encounter.
Lorenzo Colombo was dismissed for Empoli in the first half, while Elseid Hysaj received his marching orders for Lazio shortly before the end.
Red-hot Roma extended their unbeaten league streak to 19 matches with a vital 1–0 home win over Fiorentina, secured by a late first-half strike from Artem Dovbyk.
