After 2 draws & 2 losses, Juventus finally secure their first win in Serie A and move up to 12th place
2021/2022 Serie A
2-3
Match Report
This was already a must-win game for Max Allegri, who had just two points from the opening four rounds and had fumbled seven points from leading situations. Giorgio Chiellini, Arthur and Kaio Jorge were unavailable, while Alvaro Morata had a slight muscular issue, so Moise Kean and Federico Chiesa came in. Spezia were fresh from their first win of the season, but missed Martin Erlic, Kevin Agudelo, Ebrima Colley, Viktor Kovalenko, Arkadiusz Reca and Leo Sena.
Kean drilled wide on a Chiesa pull-back, while Matthijs de Ligt fired over from a deflected corner and Weston McKennie hit a fresh-air volley on Mattia De Sciglio’s cross.
The breakthrough finally came when Leonardo Bonucci floated a long ball over the top, Adrien Rabiot knocked it down for Kean, who took a touch before rifling into the far bottom corner from just inside the area. It was his first goal since returning to Turin after Everton and PSG experiences.
However, Juve have already fumbled seven points from leading situations this season and did it again, conceding the equaliser soon after. Wojciech Szczesny did well to beat away the initial effort on a corner, but could do nothing when Emmanuel Gyasi’s ferocious follow-up took a slight deflection to loop into the far top corner. Gyasi also rubbed it in by copying Cristiano Ronaldo’s celebration.
Max Allegri made changes at the break, introducing Alex Sandro and Manuel Locatelli, but it was Spezia who turned the game around completely. A long ball sent Janis Antiste running on the counter, he cut inside one against two and the shot took a deflection off Bonucci to wrong-foot Szczesny at the near post.
Jeroen Zoet pushed a Kean header over the bar and got to the Dybala strike, while Antiste saw his effort practically cleared off the line by Locatelli.
However, moments later Juve got back on level terms, as Chiesa won the ball back from Daniele Verde at the corner flag, rode a tackle and lunged forward to poke in from 10 yards.
The game continued to twist and turn, Juve not going 3-2 up when Morata flicked on a corner, it was not cleared and Matthijs de Ligt fired in with his weaker right foot from eight yards.
It wasn’t over, because Szczesny needed a reaction save at the back post on Riccardo Maggiore’s control and volley.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start
13' Kean try to dribble falied
15' De Ligt's shot flies high
26' McKennie's pass denied
27' GOAL! Spezia 0-1 Juventus (Kean)
32' GOAL! Spezia 1-1 Juventus (Gyasi)
40' CHANCE! Dybala's free-kick stopped
42' Dybala's long shot inches high
48' GOAL! Spezia 2-1 Juventus (Antiste)
54' Kean's header denied
56' McKennie's shot over the bar
61' Zoet parries Dybala's shot
65' GOAL! Spezia 2-2 Juventus (Chiesa)
71' GOAL! Spezia 2-3 Juventus (De Ligt)
84' Yellow Card! Nikolaou booked
Line-ups
Spezia XI: Zoet, M. Bourabia, D. Nikolaou, S. Bastoni, E. Gyasi, Verde, Amian, Hristov, G. Maggiore, Salvador Ferrer, J. Antiste
Subs: J. Sala, I. Provedel, M. N'Zola, R. Manaj, Salcedo, D. Strelec, J. Kiwior, S. Podgoreanu, Petar Zovko, Nicolò Bertola
Juventus XI: Bonucci, Szczesny, Danilo, De Sciglio, Dybala, Rabiot, Bentancur, De Ligt, Kean, Chiesa, McKennie
Subs: Cuadrado, Ramsey, Sandro, Pinsoglio, Perin, Morata, Rugani, Bernardeschi, Locatelli, L.Pellegrini, Kulusevski