Juve draw Cagliari ahead of Champions League trip to Real
MILAN --
Paul Pogba marked his comeback with a goal as newly crowned Serie A champion Juventus drew 1-1 against relegation-threatened Cagliari on Saturday.
Massimiliano Allegri rested almost all his stars ahead of Wednesday's Champions League semifinal at Real Madrid, and it was Pogba who opened the scoring on the stroke of halftime, 52 days after a right-thigh muscle tear.
Luca Rossettini leveled five minutes from time to give Cagliari a crucial point. The Sardinian side moved to within five points of safety, with 17th-place Atalanta visiting Palermo on Sunday.
Later, Roma visited AC Milan looking for a third successive win to boost its chances of again finishing second, in a tight race for the final Champions League spots.
There was a party atmosphere at Juventus Stadium, with the team having clinched its fourth successive title at Sampdoria last weekend. The fans sang throughout and waved flags provided by the club.
Juventus was full of confidence after Tuesday's 2-1 win over Madrid, which left it with all to play for in the second leg.
Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Fernando Llorente and Alvaro Morata were among those kept on the substitutes' bench. Key playmaker Andrea Pirlo watched from the stands along with the league's leading goalscorer Carlos Tevez.
Romulo also made his comeback from injury, with his last appearance coming in November's 7-0 win over Parma.
Pogba looked lively from the start and had several attempts on goal from distance before breaking the deadlock with an effort which was deflected into the near side of goal.
Juventus looked set to celebrate its title victory with a win but Rossettini leveled, tapping home the rebound after his header from a free kick came off the left upright.
Cagliari could have won in stoppage time when Albin Ekdal picked out an unmarked Marco Sau, but he blazed over from 12 yards.