October 28, (THEWILL) – Massimiliano Allegri’s 200th game in charge of Juventus ended in painful 2-1defeat as Sassuolo scored five minutes into stoppage time to hand Juventus their first loss in ten games.
The Old Lady had appeared vibrant and eager in the early exchanges of the game, but Mattia De Sciglio’s injury halted their progress.
Paulo Dybala hit the post with a ferocious attempt from the edge of the box eight minutes before the break, giving them their first genuine chance.
Sassuolo had not provided much in the way of attacking danger, but on the stroke of half-time, Davide Frattesi completed a magnificent team sweeping assault and delivered a sucker punch to the hosts.
After Giacomo Raspodori lost a fantastic chance to double Sassuolo’s lead, Juventus awoke in the second half.
Juan Cuadrado, who came on as a half-time substitute, saw his goal-bound drive cleared off the line, while Federico Chiesa fired over after Andrea Consigli stopped Paulo Dybala.
In the 76th minute, McKennie leapt highest to meet Dybala’s free-kick throw, and his bullet header nestled into the far corner of Sassuolo’s net, restoring parity.
After pushing bodies forward in search of a late winner, Juventus were caught on the counter-attack in the 95th minute when Lopez was played through by Domenico Berardi’s delightful pass and the forward finished with aplomb, coolly lifting the ball over goalkeeper Mattia Perin’s head to send the travelling fans wild.
The Old Lady appeared to have brushed off their poor form at the start of the season, but they have now put in three consecutive poor performances, and they paid the price for such display this time as their luck ran out against a tenacious Sassuolo team that had caused havoc on the counter all night.
Allegri’s squad suffered their first defeat in ten games, while Sassuolo extended their unbeaten streak to three matches. The victory helped ninth-placed Alessio Dionisi’s team close the gap on Juventus, who drop out of the top five to eighth after tonight’s loss.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
