It was a cagey start, but even among those cagey opening exchanges, Juventus looked to have more fluidity in attack than they had under the outgoing Thiago Motta.
They also had almost complete control of the ball, hoarding over 80% of the possession during the opening 20 minutes, although they were repeatedly denied entry to the box by the formidable Roma backline.
A brief spell of positive play for the hosts followed, and they were unlucky not to take the lead when Bryan Cristante’s effort was cleared by a brilliant sliding intervention from Pierre Kalulu.
The remainder of the first half was played at a ferocious pace, and it wasn’t long before both sides had struck the woodwork. Nico Gonzalez’s header was tipped onto the bar in stunning fashion by Mile Svilar before Stephan El Shaarawy nodded against the upright at the other end.
But the best of a high quality half came with five minutes to go, when Kalulu’s cross was cleared out to the edge of the area and Manuel Locatelli, who struck an elegant bouncing volley into Svilar’s bottom corner.
Claudio Ranieri made the bold call to withdraw Mats Hummels for an additional forward at the break, a decision which took less than five minutes to pay dividends.
Evan Ndicka’s header was saved well by Michele Di Gregorio, but substitute Eldor Shomurodov reacted first to prod in off the bar from close range.
Roma looked by far the more likely side to score next, though smart defending from the likes of Kalulu kept things level heading into the final moments.
Juve turned the tide during the final 10 minutes and pushed for a late winner, but they were ultimately out of luck and went home with a point.
While Roma failed to pick up three points in Serie A for the first time since early February, this result against a strong opponent will surely motivate them ahead of next weekend’s heated Derby della Capitale against sixth-placed Lazio.
Juve, meanwhile, avoided defeat against a direct rival and retain fifth spot as a result, although they have now won just three of their 15 matches this season against the current top nine.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Manuel Locatelli (Juventus)
