Green-and-black monster comes back to haunt Juve, UCL getting out of reach

In the last 10 games between Juventus and Sassuolo, the Old Lady has won six. At first glance, it's an excellent record. However, when we're talking about one of the most powerful sides in Italian football history and a club from a city of just over 40,000 citizens, it's clear that the Neroverdi are Juve's "bogey team".

Last night, they proved it once again, salvaging a 1-1 draw in Turin, even though they are far from both the relegation zone and a fight for European spots, and the Bianconeri desperately needed a win in the UCL race.

Luciano Spalletti's men were in for a dream start, as they broke the deadlock after only 14 minutes. Their goalie Mattia Perin initiated a quick counterattack, Francisco Conceicao made a magnificent run, and set up an easy goal for Kenan Yildiz, the Turk's 10th in the current Serie A campaign.

Until the break, Juve had one solid chance to double the lead, which Pierre Kalulu wasted, while Sassuolo missed a decent opportunity to level through Andrea Pinamonti.

Milan refuses to give up – a hard-fought victory and hope for an Inter slip-up

However, the 26-year-old forward took no prisoners seven minutes into the second half, exploiting a fantastic assist of Sassuolo legend Domenico Berardi.

Aware that the situation is alarming, Spalletti subbed on practically every offensive weapon he had on the bench - from Teun Koopmeiners and Fabio Miretti, to Arkadiusz Milik and Dusan Vlahovic, who hadn't played since May 2024 and November 2025, respectively.

And the chance for the win came late in the game, in the 87th minute, and it was an opportunity Juventus could only dream of - a penalty kick.

The Bianconeri captain and the man they bought from Sassuolo five years ago for €36.4 million, Manuel Locatelli, took responsibility and fell short, as the visitors' goalkeeper Arijanet Muric stopped his effort, crushing the Turin side's hopes of a triumph.

Juve are currently tied with Como in the fourth position (the last one that secures Champions League next season) in the Serie A, but Cesc Fabregas' men have one game in hand, as they face the relegation strugglers Pisa at home (14.30), and it's hard to expect they'll miss a chance to go further clear.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 30

Friday

Cagliari - Napoli 0-1 (0-1)

/McTominay 2/

Genoa - Udinese 0-2 (0-0)

/Ekkelenkamp 66, Davis 90+6/

Saturday

Parma - Cremonese 0-2 (0-0)

/Maleh 54, Vandeputte 68/

Milan - Torino 3-2 (1-1)

/Pavlovic 36, Rabiot 54, Fofana 55 - Simeone 44, Vlasic 83 pen/

Juventus - Sassuolo 1-1 (1-0)

/Yildiz 14 - Pinamonti 52/

Sunday

14.30: (1.27) Como (5.60) Pisa (12.0)

17.00: (1.40) Atalanta (4.50) Verona (8.50)

17.00: (2.40) Bologna (3.10) Lazio (3.40)

20.00: (1.47) Roma (4.10) Lecce (7.75)

22.45: (5.00) Fiorentina (4.20) Inter (1.65)

***odds are subject to change***