This couldn’t probably be occurring once more.
That’s what I used to be pondering two minutes into the second half of Juventus’ Sunday prime-time tilt towards Lazio, when the Biancocelesti took an inexplicable 2-0 lead regardless of Juve dominating each aspect of the sport as much as that time, save for a freak breakthrough that had come after Manuel Locatelli was jumped within the closing minute of first-half stoppage time and Pedro transformed the staff’s first shot on track by way of a deflection.
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Days after Juventus typically outplayed Atalanta within the Coppa Italia solely to crash out of the competitors 3-0, Juve had been far and away the higher staff towards Lazio, however these two freakish objectives had the staff trailing by two and on their approach to yet one more loss in a sport that that they had been far and away the higher facet.
I used to be nonetheless pondering it because the final minutes of stoppage time ticked away. Regardless of having gotten again into the sport simply earlier than the hour mark, Juve had been nonetheless staring defeat within the face, earlier than the person who has performed each single minute of the 2025-26 season produced a large second. Pierre Kalulu’s thunderous header off a Jérémie Boga cross within the closing minute of stoppage time salvaged a 2-2 draw, although the purpose nonetheless felt very very like a missed alternative given the way in which Juve dominated the sport and the groups’ respective type coming into the match. One level was higher than none, however the way in which the sport went Juve would’ve anticipated to complete with three factors, and as a substitute needed to look ahead to Monday’s Roma consequence to see if they might stay within the high 4 previous the week.
Luciano Spalletti determined to rotate after the short turnaround from the Coppa. Dusan Vlahovic was nonetheless out, however Kenan Yildiz returned from a minor damage along with his new contract in hand. The rotation necessitated a reversion to a 3-4-2-1 formation, backstopped by Michele Di Gregorio. Kalulu, Bremer, and Teun Koopmeiners performed in entrance of him in protection, with Andrea Cambiaso and Juan Cabal enjoying at wing-back. Manuel Locatelli and Khéphren Thuram took up their regular positions in midfield, whereas Weston McKennie and Yildiz supported Jonathan David in assault.
Maurizio Sarri returned to the Allianz with a a lot completely different squad than the one which shocked Juve 1-0 within the andata and misplaced Igor Tudor his job. Luca Pellegrini was unavailable on account of suspension, whereas Manuel Lazzari, Mattia Zaccagni, and Samuel Gigot had been harm. Sarri’s depth had additionally been sapped by the winter gross sales of Matteo Guenduzi and Taty Castellanos. He offered a 4-3-3, anchored by Ivan Provodel. Adam Marusic, Oliver Provstgaard, Mario Gila, and Nuno Taveres offered defensive cowl. Toma Fundamental, Danilo Cataldi, and Kenneth Taylor made up the midfield, whereas Gustav Isaksen and Pedro supplied width to false 9 Daniele Maldini.
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Juve clearly are rising to get pleasure from placing the ball down the center proper off the nook, as they did it once more after a false begin introduced issues again. David couldn’t fairly management it, however it was an early harbinger of issues to come back.
Juve fully wiped the ground with Lazio in each facet of the sport within the first half, save for the one which counted probably the most: the scoreline. It felt like at any time when they lose the ball, their press instantly took possession again and commenced to hunt for a gaol. Cambiaso got here out of combo with Yildiz to fireside on aim within the ninth minute, however he put it proper at Provodel for a straightforward save.
Provodel was a lot known as right into a a lot bigger function a couple of minutes later when Kalulu, on the left after a nook, lifted a stupendous cross into the field that discovered Bremer rising for the header, however the Lazio keeper in some way get a hand as much as claw the ball out from below the bar.
Midway by way of the primary interval Juve noticed a pair of officiating calls go adversely. First, Cabal was tripped up as he superior the ball into the field, a transparent penalty that each referee Marco Guida and VAR Paolo Mazzoleni declined to take motion on. In equity, Guida might’ve at the least performed benefit, as seconds later Koopmeiners ran onto a layoff by Yildiz and swept it house first time, however Thuram was rapidly—and appropriately—flagged for a passive offside, screening Provodel’s imaginative and prescient from an offside place.
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Koopmeiners needed to place that aim on his sheet and fired one other long-range dart six minutes later, solely to see it bend broad on the final minute. Bremer blasted one other header simply over the bar, and Cambiaso was blocked by Taylor after being present in all kinds of house on the proper. Lazio lastly fired a warning shot with lower than 5 minutes to go within the half when Tavares hit a pacy cross by way of the goalmouth however didn’t have any targets close to it, whereas David headed over from one other Kalulu cross.
However Juve had been to finish up strolling into the locker rooms shocked after a giant mistake let Lazio nab the breakthrough. Locatelli took too lengthy to dump the ball and was jumped from behind by Maldini in his personal territory. The ball rapidly zipped upfield to Pedro. The venerable Spaniard tried to place the ball throughout Di Gregorio to the far submit, however a deflection by Bremer as he tried to dam became a catastrophe: the Brazilian’s contact redirected it to the close to submit, leaving Di Gregorio fully stranded to observe Lazio create a shocking breakthrough.
Spalletti instantly made an attacking change on the break, sending on Edon Zhegrova for Cabal. Seems he’d want it, as a result of one other lapse put Juve firmly behind the eight ball simply two minutes into the second interval. A superb lengthy ball by Cataldi discovered Isaksen, who had gotten behind Cambiaso far too simply. The Swedish winger rapidly settled the ball and blasted it over Di Gregorio and into the roof of the web.
Juve instantly tried to seek out their footing once more, and Yildiz almost mustered a fast response with one among his trademark far-post curlers, solely to be denied by a flying save from Provodel. Within the 58th minute Cambiaso’s cutback was cleared away by Provstgaard seconds earlier than it might be fired on body, however lower than 60 seconds later the wing-back made up for his error a bit when he collected the rebound off one other glorious Provodel save and floated a cross in from the left that met McKennie completely. His header from seven yards shocked Provodel at his close to submit and bounced into the web off the within of the upright, asserting it was sport again on with half an hour to go.
Invigorated by the aim, Juve began transferring at a frenetic tempo to attempt to decide up the equalizer. Cambiaso got here shut to a different help minutes after his first, however the ball flew simply over McKennie’s head and Bremer was too late to succeed in it on the again submit. Locatelli went for his personal redemption strike two minutes later however missed a foot or two broad.
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Lazio’s probabilities to attempt to reestablish their lead had been few and much between, and Taylor wasted one after Matteo Cancellieri dispossessed Yilidz to begin a fast counter. A couple of minutes later Thuram despatched David into the field, who squared the ball completely for what would seemingly have been a tap-in by Bremer, however Tavares got here out of nowhere and slid in from behind the massive Brazilian to get his foot to the ball a split-second earlier than.
Juve continued to push, and Lazio continued to carry on for pricey life, thanks in most half to their goalkeeper. Provodel once more denied Yildiz. Within the 82nd minute McKennie once more put the ball into the web, however this time there have been no questions over the offside name as he was effectively off after Kalulu gathered his personal blocked shot and tried to cross.
Lazio ought to’ve sealed the sport 4 minutes from time once they managed to interrupt out for a three-on-two counterattack, however Tijjani Noslin airmailed his shot from a free place within the field. Zhegrova put a roller simply over the far nook, and Yildiz was denied as soon as extra, this time on the close to submit, simply as stoppage time commenced.
The sport was headed into the final of the six minutes added on by Guida when Kalulu’s second arrived. Fabio Miretti switched play to Boga, who took a contact to the byline and despatched the ball in to the Frenchman, who took benefit of a ball-watching Romagnoli to drift right into a pocket of house devoid of defenders and ship a robust header to even the rating.
Issues weren’t achieved, as Guida tacked on two extra minutes to the added time to account for the aim and an damage stoppage for Provodel. Within the second of the 2 Loïs Openda had two probabilities inside 30 seconds to finish the comeback and provides Juve a shocking victory, however he first pushed a ball into empty house after which headed broad from 10 yards after one other good cross from Boga. That turned out to be the ultimate motion of the match, and Juve trudged off the sector, seemingly feeling very very like that they had left two very huge factors on the desk.
