Juventus saw their perfect start to the Serie A season end as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Hellas Verona, with Gift Orban’s strike cancelling out Francisco Conceicao’s opener and a VAR offside ruling denying Verona a potential winner.
The Bianconeri arrived in Verona after two dramatic encounters, thrilling past Inter 4-3 to maintain a 100% league record, then clawing back from 4-2 down to secure a 4-4 draw against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
Francisco Conceicao returned from injury, while Andrea Cambiaso was available after serving a two-match ban. Fabio Miretti and Arek Milik remained sidelined.
Hellas Verona, with just two points from three games, were missing a host of key players, including Roberto Gagliardini, Tomas Suslov, and Nicolas Valentini.
The match began with tension as Federico Gatti picked up an early booking after a clash with Domagoj Bradaric.
A sloppy back-pass from Gatti almost allowed Orban to score, forcing a smart save from Michele Di Gregorio.
Conceicao made an immediate impression in his season debut. Collecting the ball from Khephren Thuram, he cut inside from the right and curled a precise left-footed shot between a defender’s legs into the far bottom corner.
Verona responded when a long Bradaric throw-in deflected onto Joao Mario’s arm, resulting in a penalty. Di Gregorio managed to get a hand to the spot-kick, but it bounced off the underside of the crossbar and into the net to level the score.
After the break, Juventus looked dangerous on the break. Kenan Yildiz’s quick throw-in set up Dusan Vlahovic, whose effort was parried by Lorenzo Montipò.
Yildiz later saw his powerful shot blocked by Unai Nunez, while Orban’s counter-attacks kept Juventus on alert.
Verona nearly took the lead in the 68th minute. Suat Serdar’s close-range header following a Nunez flick-on appeared to give them the advantage, only for VAR to rule it out for offside.
The home side continued to press. Orban’s angled strike narrowly missed, Di Gregorio tipped Martin Frese’s half-volley over the bar, and Lois Openda tested Montipò before a threatening cross was cleared by Bradaric to prevent a late Verona goal.
In the end, Juventus had to settle for a draw, seeing their 100% league record come to an end, while Verona remain in search of their first victory of the season.
