Juventus was held to a 0-0 draw by BATE Borisov on Wednesday, getting the one point it needed to finish on top of Group H in the Champions League.

Sebastiano Giovinco, making a rare start for Juventus, shot over the crossbar on a penalty in the 53rd minute after BATE’s Mikhail Sivakov had been called for a hand ball in the area. Giovinco had scored a spectacular free kick goal over the weekend in the Serie A.

Giovinco shoots and misses a penalty kick.

Two minutes before the penalty, Juventus midfielder Marco Marchionni hit the post with a header.

“For us the most important thing was to get the one point and that is what we did, but we did try to win,” Juventus defender Nicola Legrottaglie said. “We hit the post and missed a penalty so we did come close. Sometimes these games that on paper don’t seem that difficult turn out to be very hard. We managed this game very well.”

BATE, which won the Belarus championship in November, created few chances and rarely threatened the goal. The best opportunity to score came in the 56th when Vitaly Rodionov’s weak header flew high over the net as BATE made little improvement over its Champions League low of just 11 shots on goal in the first five games.

Juventus finished the group stage with 12 points, the same as Real Madrid. Juventus finished first because it has a better head-to-head record. Zenit St. Petersburg finished with five points and BATE three.

Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero, who scored three of his team’s four goals against Madrid, came on in the second half but was unable to provide the spark that would have led to a goal. Del Piero did come close to scoring in the 81st, forcing BATE goalkeeper Sergei Veremko to make a diving save on his header.

Giovinco got the start so that Del Piero could rest a slight injury and to ensure he is rested for Sunday’s match against Serie A rival AC Milan.

“Giovinco played well and with personality,” Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri said. “I’m sorry he missed the penalty, but that happens to everybody. He made a lot of good pass and created chances. We came close to scoring and the most important thing was not to get scored on.”

The BATE defense neutralized Juventus striker Amauri, who scored the winner in the final minute against Lecce over the weekend. Amauri is tied for fourth in Serie A with eight goals through 15 games.

Juventus midfielder Cristiano Zanetti played for the first time this season after missing the first three months with an injury. Vincenzo Iaquinta, who scored two goals against BATE in September’s 2-2 draw, was left off the roster due to injury. Midfielder Mauro Camoranesi also sat out the game with a collar bone injury.

Juventus – Bate Highlights

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