Venezia 2-3 Juventus: Yıldız, Muani & Locatelli net to secure Old Lady join UCL

Manuel Locatelli's penalty secured Champions League qualification for Juventus as they beat Venezia 3-2 on the final day of the Serie A season, with the hosts and Empoli relegated.

Match Report

Juventus travelled to the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo knowing a victory would ensure qualification for Europe's premier club competition for 2025-26.

They held a one-point lead over a resurgent Roma side – who visited Torino – with Lazio another point back ahead of a home finale against Lecce.

Igor Tudor's Bianconeri made a dire start as Daniel Fila put Venezia ahead in the second minute, though Kenan Yildiz and Randal Kolo Muani both struck – aided by some suspect goalkeeping from Ionut Radu – to flip the game on its head by the 31st minute.

Having created the opener, Ridgeciano Haps dragged Venezia level 10 minutes into the second half following an inadvertent flick-on from Juve substitute Renato Veiga.

However, former Juve midfielder Hans Nicolussi Caviglia felled Francisco Conceicao to concede a 73rd-minute spot-kick, from which Locatelli found the top corner for the winner.

That goal ensured a fourth-placed finish for Juventus, while Venezia would not have stayed up even with a victory, as Lassana Coulibaly struck the only goal in Lecce's 1-0 win at Lazio, in a game where Santiago Pierotti and Alessio Romagnoli were both sent off.

Lecce stayed up by three points in 17th, with Empoli also condemned to the drop by a 2-1 home loss to Hellas Verona. Monza were already confirmed to finish bottom.

Juventus, however, did need their victory as Leandro Paredes and Alexis Saelemaekers struck in Claudio Ranieri's final game in charge of Roma, who finished just a point outside the Champions League places after a 2-0 win at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino. 

While the Giallorossi will play Europa League football next term, Lazio missed out on Europe entirely as Fiorentina's 3-2 win at Udinese saw them leapfrog the Biancocelesti into sixth place via their head-to-head record, achieving Conference League qualification.

Data Debrief: Worth the wait for Tudor

Juventus went into their final game of the season with a simple objective – a win would confirm a top-four finish. However, they had not won on the road since beating Cagliari 1-0 in February under previous coach Thiago Motta.

Tudor certainly picked an opportune moment to oversee his first away win with the Bianconeri, having drawn three and lost one of his previous four.

While Locatelli got the winner, there were milestones for both Yildiz and Kolo Muani.

Yildiz became one of just four players born in 2005 or later to record 10 goal involvements in one of Europe's top five leagues this season (seven goals, three assists), alongside Desire Doue, Assane Diao and Lamine Yamal.

Kolo Muani, meanwhile, netted his eighth Serie A goal since joining on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. The last Frenchman to net at least eight goals for Juve between January and the end of a top-flight season was David Trezeguet in 2005-06 (also eight). 

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

2' GOAL! Venezia 1-0 Juventus (Daniel Fila)

6' Match Event for Venezia vs Juventus

12' Highlight from Venezia vs Juventus

25' GOAL! Yıldız's angled drive squirms in at near corner! Venezia 1-1 Juventus

31' GOAL! Muani's scorching finish goes through Radu! Venezia 1-2 Juventus

36' Match Event for Venezia vs Juventus

46' Match Event for Venezia vs Juventus

54' Match Event for Venezia vs Juventus

55' GOAL! Haps' goal makes Old Lady now fall out of 4th place! Venezia 2-2 Juventus

62' Match Event for Venezia vs Juventus

67' Highlight from Venezia vs Juventus

71' Highlight from Venezia vs Juventus

73' Penalty Goal! Locatelli lifts Juve to 4th ahead of Roma! Venezia 2-3 Juventus

76' Highlight from Venezia vs Juventus

78' Match Event for Venezia vs Juventus

Line-ups

Venezia XI: Ridgeciano Haps, M. Sverko, Radu, Alessio Zerbin, Hans Nicolussi Caviglia, John Yeboah, Fali Candé, Mikael Egill Ellertsson, Daniel Fila, Joël Schingtienne, Issa Doumbia

Subs: Christian Gytkjær, Matteo Grandi, Jesse Joronen, Francesco Zampano, Mirko Marić, A.Duncan, Kike Pérez, Filip Stanković, Gaetano Oristanio, Franco Carboni, Richie Sagrado, Alessandro Marcandalli, Saad El Haddad

Juventus XI: Locatelli, Di Gregorio, N. Gonzalez, Lloyd Kelly, Muani, Khéphren Thuram, Francisco Conceição, Andrea Cambiaso, Nicolò Savona, Yıldız, Alberto Costa

Subs: Pinsoglio, Perin, Koopmeiners, Vlahovic, Douglas Luiz, McKennie, Timothy Weah, Mbangula, Gatti, Rouhi, Renato Veiga, Adzic