Roma midfielder Houssine Kharja grabbed an equaliser five minutes from time to draw 1-1 with Juventus last night.
Juve, whose lead at the top has been trimmed to eight points with this draw and second-placed AC Milan's 3-1 win against Fiorentina, went ahead through Emerson's header but were then forced to defend stoutly following Pavel Nedved's 45th-minute dismissal.
They held out until the 85th minute but succumbed when Morocco substitute midfielder Kharja nodded home Rodrigo Taddei's well-flighted corner.
There was some bad news for Juve ahead of their Champions League quarter-final first leg with Arsenal in midweek, with forward Alessandro Del Piero substituted in the 16th minute with a leg injury.
Roma, who stay fifth, more than matched their opponents throughout.
"It's a shame, as we could've avoided that equalising goal," said Juve coach Fabio Capello.
"In the first half the Giallorossi played better than we did, while we were a little confused in our movement. Despite going down to 10 men, we did better after the break and I liked our performance."
Nedved received his second yellow card on the stroke of half-time for a late tackle on Simone Perrotta.
"I never judge referees in these cases," said Capello before doing just that. "I will say that the first foul was debatable and from the bench I thought he had nothing to do with the second incident."
Alessandro Del Piero limped off after just 17 minutes with a left thigh problem and Capello concedes he's unlikely to recover in time for the Champions League trip to Highbury.
"He had already struggled with a problem in that leg during the week and I have major doubts that he'll be fit in time for Tuesday," he explained.
Considering the number of injuries in the Roma camp - with Edgar Alvarez also forced off with a muscular problem - the mood was upbeat after this late equaliser in Turin.
"It was a great performance," beamed Coach Spalletti. "It is the level of football that pleases me even more than the result. If the team continues like this, it'll be rewarded more than merely with a position in the table. The important thing is their attitude on the pitch, because without that you don't get wins."
Juve, whose lead at the top has been trimmed to eight points with this draw and second-placed AC Milan's 3-1 win against Fiorentina, went ahead through Emerson's header but were then forced to defend stoutly following Pavel Nedved's 45th-minute dismissal.
They held out until the 85th minute but succumbed when Morocco substitute midfielder Kharja nodded home Rodrigo Taddei's well-flighted corner.
There was some bad news for Juve ahead of their Champions League quarter-final first leg with Arsenal in midweek, with forward Alessandro Del Piero substituted in the 16th minute with a leg injury.
Roma, who stay fifth, more than matched their opponents throughout.
"It's a shame, as we could've avoided that equalising goal," said Juve coach Fabio Capello.
"In the first half the Giallorossi played better than we did, while we were a little confused in our movement. Despite going down to 10 men, we did better after the break and I liked our performance."
Nedved received his second yellow card on the stroke of half-time for a late tackle on Simone Perrotta.
"I never judge referees in these cases," said Capello before doing just that. "I will say that the first foul was debatable and from the bench I thought he had nothing to do with the second incident."
Alessandro Del Piero limped off after just 17 minutes with a left thigh problem and Capello concedes he's unlikely to recover in time for the Champions League trip to Highbury.
"He had already struggled with a problem in that leg during the week and I have major doubts that he'll be fit in time for Tuesday," he explained.
Considering the number of injuries in the Roma camp - with Edgar Alvarez also forced off with a muscular problem - the mood was upbeat after this late equaliser in Turin.
"It was a great performance," beamed Coach Spalletti. "It is the level of football that pleases me even more than the result. If the team continues like this, it'll be rewarded more than merely with a position in the table. The important thing is their attitude on the pitch, because without that you don't get wins."
