Juve's 93rd-minute nightmare in Lecce
Reading Time: 2min | Mon. 02.12.24. | 11:23
Bianconeri were in front until the dying minutes when former AC Milan forward Ante Rebic's equalizer deprived them of three points - 1-1
It will take time for Juventus to become the rulers of Italian football again. They simply don't have the quality they had throughout the past decade when players like Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo, Giorgio Chiellini, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain, or Paulo Dybala continually brought joy to the fans. Yet, Thiago Motta's crew was on the verge of a hard-won victory in Lecce but was deprived of it most excruciatingly - with an added-time equalizer.
18 - Juventus have set a new record for draws in a single calendar year in their Serie A history: 18, surpassing the 17 of 1956. Blocked.#LecceJuve #SerieA
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) December 1, 2024
In the 93rd minute, the Bianconeri lost the ball, and Nikola Krstovic received it on the left flank with a lot of space in front. The Montenegrin rushed towards the box and found former AC Milan forward Ante Rebic inside, who easily passed the ball behind Mattia Perin's back for Juve's third straight draw.
Without the starting centre-forward Dusan Vlahovic at his disposal, Motta opted for the attacking trio of Timothy Weah, Francisco Conceicao, and Kenan Yildiz. The visitors hit the post twice during the first half over Khephren Thuram and Conceicao's strikes but ended the period without an attempt on target.
Lecce were more concrete after the break, but Juve still opened the scoring behind Andrea Cambiaso's 20-meter effort, although the deflection off the home team's defender, the Angolan Kialonda Gaspar, significantly helped.
However, the Bianconeri fell in the dying minutes, breaking their negative record after recording the 18th draw in 2024. Either way, the Old Lady still sits only six points behind the table-toppers Napoli and is the only undefeated team in Serie A with six wins and eight ties.
SERIE A - MATCHDAY 14
Friday
Cagliari - Verona 1-0 (0-0)
/Piccoli 75/
Saturday
Como - Monza 1-1 (1-0)
/Engelhardt 36 - Caprari 53 pen/
Milan - Empoli 3-0 (2-0)
/Morata 19, Reijnders 44, 69/
Bologna - Venezia 3-0 (1-0)
/Ndoye 21 pen, 71, Orsolini 69 pen/
Sunday
Udinese - Genoa 0-2 (0-1)
/Pinamonti 13, Giannetti 68 og/
Parma - Lazio 3-1 (1-0)
/Man 6, Haj Mohamed 53 - Castellanos 81/
Torino - Napoli 0-1 (0-1)
/McTominay 31/
Fiorentina - Inter - suspended
Lecce - Juventus 1-1 (0-0)
/Rebic 90+3 - Cambiaso 68/
Monday
22.45: (3.30) Roma (3.50) Atalanta (2.30)
***odds are subject to change***
