With confidence running high following a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions, Sporting made a tremendous start, and duly took the lead in the 12th minute thanks to a wonderful finish from Maximiliano Araujo that went in off the post.
With the hosts on the ropes, the Lions came desperately close to doubling their advantage only two minutes later, when a Francisco Trincao rocket cannoned off the bar.
The Bianconeri needed to wake up quickly, and it was Dusan Vlahovic who led the charge. A fine glancing header from the Serbian international striker inside the box produced an outstanding save from Rui Silva shortly after the quarter-hour mark, before the goalkeeper was called into urgent action again by the striker only 30 seconds later, with an excellent full-stretch stop to tip the ball around the post.
The pressure soon became too much for the Lions’ defence, and Juventus netted a deserved equaliser through Vlahovic, who got ahead of his marker and poked home from close range after receiving an excellent pass from Khephren Thuram.
The Old Lady almost edged ahead just before half-time as Francisco Conceicao’s strike took a vital deflection to steer the ball inches wide of the post to conclude an enthralling first half.
The vast majority of the second half was a much less frantic occasion, as Juventus’ poor finishing and lack of composure let them down frequently, while Sporting were content to sit back and soak up the pressure.
With 10 minutes remaining, Luciano Spalletti’s side had managed only two shots on target since the interval, with both of those coming from long distance and forcing only routine saves from Silva.
Juventus almost won the match in dramatic fashion in stoppage time, but Silva was on hand to superbly tip the ball over to deny Jonathan David’s last-gasp effort.
The draw sees the Bianconeri creep inside the top 24 of the UCL table, albeit with a host of teams around them who now have a game in hand. Despite a tough start to the campaign and a change of manager already, the Old Lady are now 11 games unbeaten at home in all competitions.
Following a draw on the road, Sporting have risen into the top 10 with just one defeat from their opening four matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)
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