Juventus share spoils with Gladbach

Monchengladbach - Ten-man Juventus took a step towards the Champions League's knock-out phase with a 1-1 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday as Stephan Lichtsteiner scored on his return from heart surgery.

The Swiss defender netted just before the half-time break to cancel out Fabian Johnson's 18th-minute opener for the guests.

It was Lichtsteiner's first match since the 31-year-old wing-back had an operation to fix an irregular heartbeat after coming off during a match in September with breathing difficulties.

Juventus played the last 35 minutes with ten men after their Brazilian midfielder Hernanes was sent off for a late tackle on Gladbach's Alvaro Dominguez, just as the visitors were starting to take control of the game.

Despite the point, Juventus remain unbeaten in Europe, but dropped to second in Group D with Manchester City going top by virtue of their 3-1 away win at Sevilla.

Gladbach remain bottom of the group with just two points from four games.

After their teenage defensive midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud hit the crossbar with a curling long-range shot, the hosts took a deserved lead at Borussia Park on 22 minutes.

Juve's Giorgio Chiellini failed to clear a low cross into the box, Brazilian striker Raffael collected the loose ball and played in US international Johnson, who slotted his shot past the Italian's goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

Having been named in the starting line-up, Lichtsteiner showed he is back to his best when Paul Pogba lifted a superb pass over the Gladbach defence and the Swiss smashed the ball past his national team-mate Yann Sommer on the volley on 44 minutes.

It was 1-1 at the break, but the game's tempo changed when Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers showed Hernanes a straight red card on 55 minutes, although replays showed both he and Dominguez went fully committed into a challenge for the loose ball.

However, the few clear chances Gladbach carved out were expertly saved by the impressive Buffon.

With time almost up, Juventus's veteran goalkeeper kept his side in the game when the 37-year-old palmed Thorgan Hazard's shot over the bar with a reflex save.

Gladbach's caretaker coach Andre Schubert has yet to secure a contract despite winning a Bundesliga record-equalling six straight games.

His record in Europe is now two draws and a defeat after his side earned a point in the away match in Turin a fortnight ago and lost at home to Manchester City.