Late Del Piero show sends Juve second

A last-gasp penalty from Alessandro Del Piero gave Juventus a 1-1 draw at Calcio Catania and enabled Claudio Ranieri's team to move into second place in Serie A.

Spinesi strike
Juventus looked to be heading for only their third league defeat of the season when the home side took the lead after 15 minutes with a goal from Gionatha Spinesi following a cross from Giuseppe Mascara. The visitors were on an eight-match unbeaten run going into the game, including victories in their last three matches, and showed their resilience once more to save Ranieri from losing to a side he represented in his playing days. Marco Biagianti felled Del Piero and the striker dusted himself down to coolly dispatch the spot-kick.

Seven-point gap
The result sent Juventus ahead of AS Roma on goal difference although the capital club can return to second with a draw or better at Atalanta BC tomorrow. The chasers both sit seven points adrift of unbeaten leaders FC Internazional Milano who travel to struggling AC Siena on Sunday. Saturday's other game was incident-packed as relegation-threatened Empoli FC and Reggina Calcio played out a 1-1 draw.

Penalty drama
Fabio Ceravolo gave the visitors a dream start on two minutes but it took the same amount of time for the hosts to level through Luca Saudati's penalty. The Empoli striker should have had a second goal from the spot on 16 minutes but could not produce a similar outcome while the away side were forced to play the final 20 minutes a man short after the dismissal of Renzo Ulivieri. The draw leaves Reggina in 19th spot, two points and three places behind Empoli in what promises to be a tight race to beat the drop this season.