From outcast to savior: Di Gregorio's redemption fuels Juve's top-four dream

Just weeks ago, Michele Di Gregorio was living a professional nightmare.

Dropped to the bench at the end of February, the Juventus goalkeeper had become a lightning rod for criticism, and not without reason. With one of the lowest save percentages in Serie A, he had turned into a statistical liability. Almost every shot on target felt like danger, while shaky decision-making and poor communication with his defence painted the picture of a goalkeeper in free fall.

Luciano Spalletti didn't sideline him on a whim - Di Gregorio's five-game exile was a consequence of form that had simply collapsed.

And yet, football has a way of rewriting scripts.

On a night when Juventus beat Genoa 2-0, the real victory belonged to the man who had been written off, the goalkeeper who went from forgotten to fundamental in the space of 90 minutes.

It all started routinely enough in Turin on Monday night. Bremer opened the scoring early, bundling the ball home after a chaotic corner, before Weston McKennie led a lightning counter in the 17th minute, releasing Francisco Conceicao before arriving himself to finish for 2-0. At that point, it looked like smooth sailing.

Then came the twist.

At half-time, Mattia Perin was forced off through injury. Suddenly, Spalletti had no choice but to call upon the very man he had frozen out for over a month. And Di Gregorio's moment had arrived.

In the 75th minute, Bremer turned from hero to culprit, conceding a penalty that threatened to drag Genoa back into the game. Up stepped Aaron Martin, but Di Gregorio stood tall.

Reading the shot perfectly, he produced a stunning save. Seconds later, he was up again, pulling off an extraordinary follow-up stop from point-blank range to keep Juventus' lead intact.

In the span of a minute, he didn't just save a goal - he saved his reputation.

The Bianconeri now sit just one point behind fourth-placed Como, with the race for the Champions League tightening into a high-stakes sprint. With Roma and Atalanta still lurking, every moment matters.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 31

Saturday

Sassuolo - Cagliari 2-1 (0-1)

/Garcia 50, Pinamonti 78 - Esposito 30 pen/

Verona - Fiorentina 0-1 (0-0)

/Fagioli 82/

Lazio - Parma 1-1 (0-1)

/Noslin 77 - Delprato 15/

Sunday

Cremonese - Bologna 1-2 (0-2)

/Bonazzoli 90+1 pen - Joao Mario 3, Rowe 16/

Pisa - Torino 0-1 (0-0)

/Adams 80/

Inter Milan - Roma 5-2 (2-1)

/Lautaro 1, 52, Calhanoglu 45+2, Thuram 55, Barella 63 - Mancini 41, Pellegrini 70/

Monday

Udinese - Como 0-0

Lecce - Atalanta 0-3 (0-1)

/Scalvini 29, Krstovic 59, Raspadori 73/

Juventus - Genoa 2-0 (2-0)

/Bremer 4, McKennie 17/

Napoli - Milan IN PROGRESS