Juventus Falls Short in the Europa League, Too; VAR Strikes in the 88th Minute

The Juventus-Rennes match, part of the second matchday of the Europa League group stage, ends in a draw. The Bianconeri, who took the lead through Celik, saw their advantage erased by the French side before halftime; in the second half, Woltemade scored from the penalty spot to make it 2-2. In the closing minutes, a goal by Lucumì was disallowed for offside following a VAR review. The crowd at the Stadium booed Spalletti’s team, which, after its crushing defeat in the league against Lazio, has yet to bounce back in the cup. In the standings, the Old Lady moves up to 7 points.

It was a roller-coaster first half for Juventus, who started well and immediately took the lead in the 5th minute through Celik: Woltemade delivered a perfect assist for the run by the former Roma winger, putting the hosts ahead. The visitors’ response, however, was fierce: first, Nagida threatened Vicario with a long-range rocket, then in the 15th minute, the score was tied at 1-1. Nagida found Reynolds in the box, who flicked the ball on to Al-Taamari, who outpaced the Turin defenders and scored the equalizer. Spalletti’s team struggled, and before halftime the French side took the lead: Douglas Luiz handled the ball in the box, and Dia sent Vicario the wrong way from the penalty spot.

Spalletti’s tactical adjustments: Kalulu came on for Celik right at the start of the second half, followed by Nico Gonzalez for Gatti. Juve managed to equalize in the 67th minute through Woltemade, who scored from the penalty spot after Reynolds handled the ball following a header by Nico Gonzalez. Shortly afterward, the German came close to putting his team ahead twice, but Rennes were also extremely dangerous through Nagida in the 73rd minute.

A nail-biter in the closing minutes: Lucumì put Juventus back in the lead following a free kick, but the referee, alerted by VAR, reviewed the play on the monitor and ruled it offside. The score remained unchanged.