MILAN (AP) — Roma forward Paulo Dybala returned to Juventus and helped in the equalizer as José Mourinho’s side lost its perfect start to Serie A on Saturday.
Dušan Vlahović scored after just 76 seconds and Juventus appeared to be in firm control until Tammy Abraham’s 69th-minute leveller.
The 1-1 draw marked Roma's first dropped points after opening the season with two wins. Napoli, which plays at Fiorentina on Sunday, is the only team left in Serie A with a perfect record.
It was an emotional return for Dybala, who cried at his final home match for Juventus in May.
Dybala spent seven years at Juventus, scoring 115 goals and helping the Bianconeri to 12 trophies, including five Serie A titles.
But the often-injured Argentina forward fell out of favor under coach Massimiliano Allegri after Juventus signed Vlahović in January. He left the Turin club when his contract ran out, joining Roma in July.
Dybala was applauded by the Juventus fans when his name was read out during the warmup, and they implored him just before kickoff to give them a wave, which he did. He was also applauded off when he was substituted in the 77th minute. He's still in search of his first goal for his new club.
Juventus was looking for a reaction after a drab 0-0 draw at Sampdoria on Monday and it immediately got it when Vlahović curled a free kick off the underside of the bar and into the top near corner with his first touch of the ball.
The Bianconeri were dominating and forced Roma goalkeeper Rui Patrício into two fantastic saves in the following 15 minutes.
They thought they doubled their lead in the 26th but Manuel Locatelli’s goal was ruled out because of a Vlahović handball.
Vlahović also had chances to double his tally shortly before halftime with two free kicks from similar distance to the one he scored from, but one attempt was saved and the other flew narrowly over the bar.
Roma finally began to get into the match in the second half and levelled when Dybala acrobatically volleyed a corner back across goal for Abraham to head into the center of the net.
The visitors almost snatched a late winner late following another corner but Juventus new signing Arkadiusz Milik cleared the shot off the line.
STILL SEARCHING
Cremonese lost at home to Torino 2-1 to leave it still looking for its first points in its first season back in the top-flight since 1996.
It is unlikely to find much joy in its next match either as it travels to Inter Milan.
Defending Serie A champion AC Milan hosted Bologna late Saturday.
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