Szczesny makes special double save in Roma first-day draw

MILAN (Reuters) - AS Roma's bid to end the Juventus stranglehold on Serie A got off to an indifferent start when they came from behind to draw 1-1 at Verona in the opening game of the Serie A season on Saturday.





Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny had an excellent debut for the visitors following his loan move from Arsenal, capped by a brilliant double save.

Edin Dzeko and Mohamed Salah, who are also on loan, drew a blank on their competitive debuts and it was left to Alessandro Florenzi to snatch a point for Roma who have finished second to Juve for the last two seasons.

"Dzeko was excellent in the first half and had that chance to win it with a header at the end," said coach Rudi Garcia, starting his third season in charge. "Dzeko and Salah need time to settle into the side but they've already done very well."

Lazio, third last season, beat promoted Bologna 2-1 in the other game with goals from Argentine midfielder Lucas Biglia and 20-year-old Dutchman Ricardo Kishna, making his debut after his move from Ajax Amsterdam, in the first half hour.

Matteo Mancosu replied just before halftime.

Roma keeper Szczesny tipped away a Samuel Souprayen drive and was then rescued by Daniele De Rossi who headed Bosko Jankovic's header off the line three minutes before halftime. The Polish goalkeeper again excelled early in the second half to deny Emil Hallfredsson and Juanito Gomez.

Szczesny palmed away Hallfredsson's long-range effort and then raced across his goal to get his hand to Gomez's effort from the rebound.

Jankovic was not to be denied, however, as he volleyed Verona ahead from Hallfredsson's cross in the 61st minute.

Florenzi replied five minutes later with a shot out of the blue which caught Verona goalkeeper Rafael off guard.

Dzeko headed over the bar in the closing minutes and Miralem Pjanic was thwarted by a superb stop from Rafael.





(Reporting by Brian Homewood, editing by Tony Jimenez)


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