Juve fought back three times to earn a draw in a six-goal thriller at Fiorentina's Stadio Artemio Franchi.
This fixture had not been played in Serie A for three years following Fiorentina's bankruptcy, but the intense rivalry between them had not dissipated with time and a record 45,000 tickets were sold for this match.
Juve had the opportunity to break away at the top of the table following Milan's earlier 1-1 draw with Brescia and their last defeat at the Stadio Artemio Franchi was in 1998. Valeri Bojinov was injured with Chris Obodo and William Viali suspended, while ex-Juve man Fabrizio Miccoli was only fit for the bench after recovering from an Achilles tendon injury.
The Bianconeri were struggling with an injury crisis, as Jonathan Zebina, David Trezeguet, Ciro Ferrara and the suspended Ruben Olivera were out, while Emerson was a late absentee with a muscular problem. Gianluca Pessotto and Alessandro Birindelli stepped into the breach.
The Viola had a very aggressive start and after five minutes Gigi Buffon only slapped a Martin Jorgensen cross into the path of Giampaolo Pazzini, but his header was off target.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was given a stern talking to by Pierluigi Collina after the Swede sarcastically applauded a decision against him.
Buffon then had to rush outside the area to clear from Pazzini as he had out-sprinted the central defenders. Pavel Nedved has just returned from a series of long-term injuries, but he fell heavily on to the small of his back after an accidental clash with fellow Czech Tomas Ujfalusi.
Juventus could not have gone closer to opening the scoring, as on 14 minutes Fabio Cannavaro's glancing header from a corner kick was slapped out by Sebastian Cejas, though some players argued it had already crossed the line. Replays suggest it was certainly a debatable incident.
But the move continued and Fantini set up Pazzini for a spectacular strike that he slammed into the top corner from the edge of the box. The Under-21 international dummied Birindelli and hit the rasping shot past Buffon.
Juventus drew level soon after, but it was a terrible goalkeeping error from Cejas. Alessandro Del Piero sprung the offside trap and his shot bounced in front of the Argentine at the near post to leave him red-faced.
Luca Ariatti slipped at the crucial moment during another counter-attack, but Fiorentina restored their lead with a player that they still own. A corner kick was touched out for Jorgensen and his fine cross reached Giorgio Chiellini for a precise header from the six-yard box.
Cejas was at full stretch to turn a Del Piero free kick round the post as it remained an open and intense game, but in first half stoppages Pazzini brought a great save out of Buffon by again holding off his marker.
Fabio Capello introduced Marcelo Zalayeta and Paolo Montero for the second half in place of Birindelli and Pessotto for a 3-4-3 system. Del Piero wasted a good opportunity within 30 seconds of the restart, as he wanted an extra touch and was crowded out in the area.
Buffon misjudged a free kick and was able to get back into position in time to block Jorgensen's header. Juve hit back and an Ibrahimovic piledriver skimmed inches wide of the upright.
Ariatti's header failed to trouble Buffon at the near post as his contact was weak, but Cejas again cost his team with an appalling error. The goalkeeper rushed off his line and took the ball off his own defender, passing it straight into the path of Ibrahimovic to roll into an empty net.
Chiellini was again allowed a header from a corner kick and this time it was just wide of the target, then Buffon was quick to react as Pazzini had taken the defence by surprise.
Anything could happen in this game and moments later Del Piero's shot-cross was parried into the path of Ibrahimovic, only to see it charged down by Ujfalusi.
The Artemio Franchi crowd cheered the introduction of fan favourite Fabrizio Miccoli for the final 20 minutes. The Italian international is still half-owned by Juventus, though he is not set to return this summer, and was only able to start from the bench due to an Achilles tendon problem.
Fantini threw away a golden opportunity on the counter-attack, as he opted to shoot from an improbably large distance rather than pass it to Miccoli.
Fiorentina's celebrations were only postponed by a couple of minutes, as Marco Donadel's free kick found another defender - Dario Dainelli - for a free header to make it 3-2 to the Viola.
Del Piero almost made it 3-3 on Zalayeta's pass, but saw his shot charged down by a defender who happened to be in front of him.
The equaliser - and the sixth goal of the season - arrived with 8 minutes left on the clock. Ibrahimovic ran down the left flank, exchanged backheels with Zalayeta, and lobbed Cejas to complete the latest comeback.
The tempo in this incredible game never slowed for a second and Juventus went for the winner, but Nedved opted to pass rather than shoot and Zalayeta's effort was charged down.
Gianluca Zambrotta slipped, but still managed to get his volley on to the crossbar, then Miccoli curled a free kick inches wide of the near post with the aid of a deflection off Stephen Appiah.
IT SOUNDS LIKE WE HAD THE CHANCE TO WIN THE MATCH AT THE END OF THE MATCH !!!
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