Two Points Dropped for Juventus But Encouraging Signs for Andrea Pirlo in Lazio Draw

Without doubt, the 90th minute of Sunday afternoon's huge clash with SS Lazio will rank as the cruelest moment of Andrea Pirlo's young managerial career thus far.

The rookie coach was seconds away from taking his first major scalp on the Juventus touchline, only for substitute Felipe Caicedo to twist and turn the game on its head with a swivel and a strike into the far corner.

It was a crushing blow for I Bianconeri, who had led le Aquile from the 15th minute and had rarely looked in peril of sacrificing two points at Stadio Olimpico.

But football is a game of fine margins, and Simone Inzaghi's men once again failed to recognise when they were beaten, rising from the dead to snatch a point and leave the Old Lady with only one win from their last four league outings.

Concerning form, that's undeniable. However, Sunday's impressive display was the closest Juventus have come to looking like the old Juventus: the black and white brick wall which could strike early and then suffocate an opponent into submission.

They came so close.

As far as game plans go, Pirlo got his pretty spot on. I Bianconeri set up with Alvaro Morata and Cristiano Ronaldo up top, while Dejan Kulusevski and Gianluca Frabotta operated in the wide areas. Juan Cuadrado and Danilo performed the role of attacking full-backs, producing some dynamic running from deep and underlapping inside the aforementioned wingers.

It was this adventure and fluid movement which broke the deadlock early on, as Cuadrado rode a series of challenges and fed the ball into Ronaldo, who in turn found Kulusevski. The Swede moved infield, opened up a huge chunk of space on the right flank, and with one cutting pass from Rodrigo Bentancur, Cuadrado was awarded the freedom of the Olimpico. His cross was inch-perfect, and Ronaldo was never going to miss from a yard out.

It was free-flowing, glorious football from Pirlo's men, and they were deservedly in the lead.

That shouldn't have been the end of Juve's scoring, either. Their talismanic number seven came close on three more occasions in the first half, dragging an effort wide from the edge of the box, rattling the crossbar from a similar position, and then seeing his free-kick parried away from the top corner by Pepe Reina.

It was a Ronaldo-heavy half of football, but it was as confident as I Bianconeri have looked for some time. Kulusevski was carrying the ball excellently between the lines, breaking with pace at a permanently retreating Lazio defence, while Morata offered his usual hustle and bustle.

The second half saw Juventus concede some territory to the growing hosts, who understandably began to turn up the pressure as the minutes ticked by. But even as the Eagles turned the screw, the visitors stood resolute. Vedat Muriqi and Joaquin Correa were restricted to very few sights of goal, and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was provided the efficient cover which has seen the Old Lady cruise to league titles in the past.

Leonardo Bonucci was marshalling his defence with authority in the absence of Giorgio Chiellini and Matthijs de Ligt, while partner Merih Demiral continued to grow in confidence throughout the match. As the game wound down, it looked as though Juve had played an absolute blinder. Lazio couldn't lay a glove on their goal, and they were in possession of the ball with mere seconds to go.

But football matches can be decided by these split seconds. Substitute Paulo Dybala surrendered possession and needlessly conceded a throw in, and coupled with a moment of individual brilliance from Correa and Caicedo, all that good work was undone.

Correa megged his marker, danced into the box, laid the ball into the path of the Ecuadorean striker, and he did the rest. Lazio players went wild, while Juve's warriors were crestfallen. It was a harsh ending to an excellent game, and while Inzaghi charged to celebrate with his heroes, Pirlo didn't know where to look.

He'll be bitterly disappointed - and rightly so. But once the dust has settled and the initial heartache has subsided, he can look back on this performance with pride. His side have taken their first steps back to the top, and one slip will not halt their assault on Italy's summit.