Juve's winning run ended by lowly SPAL

Leader Juventus saw their 12-match winning run in Serie A ended by lowly SPAL Saturday when they were held to a 0-0 draw by opponent who began the day in the relegation zone. It was the first time since Dec. 9 that the Turin side had failed to win a league game and the result breathed new life into the Serie A title race just as Juve had threatened to break clear. Although Juve moved five points ahead at the top, second-placed Napoli's fate is back in their own hand as they host Genoa Sunday, when they can cut the lead to two points, and still have to meet Juve in mid-April. Juve, who completed their 10th league game without conceding a goal, dominated possession but were unable to find a way past SPAL's resolute defence. SPAL's Filippo Costa did well to block Alex Sandro after he was sent through by Douglas Costa and Paulo Dybala curled a Juve free kick on to the roof of the net just before halftime. Mario Mandzukic had Juve's best second-half chance when he met Costa's cross with a diving header but his effort went wide.

Juventus keep a tenth consecutive Serie A clean sheet ?? – but drop points for the first time in 13 league games after a 0-0 draw with SPAL.

Will they keep Madrid's forwards quiet in the #UCL? pic.twitter.com/IN0NW5dWJR— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 17, 2018

SPAL, who are back in Serie A after a 49-year absence, moved one point and one place clear of the relegation zone. A capacity 13,000 crowd at their modest stadium celebrated the final whistle as if they had won a title. Massimiliano Allegri warned that Juve would face similar tough matches against other relegation candidates. SPAL captain Mirco Antenucci said the result was "something to be proud of, it's very satisfying". Sassuolo ended a nine-match winless run by beating Udinese 2-1 in Saturday's other game and handed their opponent a fifth successive loss. Sassuolo went ahead thanks to an own goal when Stefano Sensi's corner ricocheted off Ali Adnan and into the net in the 42nd minute Seko Fofana equalised two minutes later by curling an exquisite effort into the top corner, a goal which was confirmed after a review by the video assistant referee.

150 games played for Juventus. Thanks to everyone for the love and support. 150 partite giocate per la Juventus. Grazie a tutti per l'amore e il supporto. ⚪️⚫️❤️

A post shared by Kwadwo Asamoah (@asamoahkwadwo) on Mar 17, 2018 at 3:58pm PDT

Sensi turned in Matteo Politano's cross for the winner in the 74th minute.RESULTSUdinese 1 (Fofana 44) Sassuolo 2 (Adnan 42-og, Sensi 74)SPAL 0 Juventus 0 SUNDAY'S MATCHESSampdoria v Inter, Benevento v Cagliari, Crotone v Roma, Verona v Atalanta, Milan v Chievo, Torino v Fiorentina, Lazio v Bologna and Napoli v Genoa POINTS TABLETeams P W D L GD PtsJuventus 29 24 3 2 52 75Napoli 28 22 4 2 43 70Roma 28 17 5 6 24 56Lazio 28 16 5 7 30 53