Juventus suffered a gutting late collapse at the Mapei Stadium, twice fighting back from behind only to concede a stoppage-time winner. Vasilije Adzic struck with the last kick of the game after Edon Zhegrova’s brace had twice dragged Juve level. Spalletti’s injury list grew even longer during the week, with Manuel Locatelli ruled out for four to six months after meniscus surgery, on top of an already lengthy absentee list — meaning Juve started without a single outfield Italian player for the first time in the club’s history. Sebastiano Esposito broke the deadlock just after the hour, converting a through ball from Nemanja Matic after Pierre Kalulu was caught out by the offside trap. Juve looked to have salvaged something when Zhegrova, on for the injury-hit Nico Gonzalez, levelled midway through the second half, only for a moment of magic from Darryl Bakola to tee up Kieron Bowie for a close-range finish that restored Sassuolo’s lead. Zhegrova struck again deep into stoppage time to make it 2-2, before Douglas Luiz was brushed aside by Adzic on the counter, who curled home the winner with virtually the last action of the match.
Juventus
Vicario: Beaten three times and had little chance with any of them, but this was a night to forget as his defence in front of him disintegrated late on. 5.0/10
Kalulu: Switched off at the crucial moment, hanging off Esposito and allowing him to spring the offside trap for the opener. Steady enough otherwise but that lapse proved costly. 4.5/10
Bremer: Generally composed, but got turned inside out by a clever piece of skill from Bakola in the buildup to Sassuolo’s second. 5.0/10
Lucumì: Withdrawn at the break as a tactical call rather than for anything he did wrong. Too brief a shift to judge fairly. 5.5/10
Celik: A tidy, unspectacular night at both ends, doing his job without any real alarms. 6.0/10
Douglas Luiz: Went close with a stinging effort that Murić had to be sharp to keep out, and picked up a booking, but was far too passive defensively when it mattered most, letting Adzic skip past him for the winner. 4.5/10
Koopmeiners: Handed a rare, more central role with Locatelli sidelined but never really imposed himself, blazing one good opportunity straight at the goalkeeper before making way. 5.0/10
⭐Alajbegovic: The most dangerous Juve player on the pitch, repeatedly testing Murić with deflected curlers from the corner of the box and unlucky not to get on the scoresheet himself. 6.5/10
Nico Gonzalez: Flew out of the traps and rattled the crossbar inside two minutes, then kept probing before making way for the double-striker switch. 6.0/10
Conceição: Lively down the flank, forcing a smart stop from Murić and combining well in the buildup to a couple of half-chances, before being replaced with an hour gone. 6.5/10
Kolo Muani: Fairly quiet as the central focal point but did enough to unsettle the goalkeeper in the buildup to Juve’s second equaliser. 5.0/10
Spalletti: Set his patched-together side up well and they created plenty in an entertaining first period, but a threadbare squad ran out of legs and organisation exactly when it mattered. 5.0/10
Substitutions
Kelly: Came on for Lucumì at the break and did little wrong in a tricky rearguard action. 5.5/10
⭐Zhegrova: A brace off the bench, including a first goal in an official match since November 2024 — the standout individual performance on the pitch, even in defeat. 8.0/10
Woltemade: Introduced for a two-striker system and went close, heading a free chance from a corner just wide of the far post. 5.5/10
Sarr: A first appearance for the club following his move from Tottenham, but arrived too late to make any real impact. 5.5/10
Oboavwoduo: N/A
