16 April 2023
Juventus fell to consecutive defeats in Serie A losing by the game's only goal at Sassuolo. Neither side risked much in the first half, but the game opened up after the break. Sassuolo took the lead through substitute Gregoire Defrel on 64 minutes. Adrien Rabiot and Angel Di Maria came closest to pulling Juve level but in the end the Bianconeri left empty handed.
Concentration turns once more to the Europa League on Thursday, when Juve take on Sporting CP in Lisbon.
THE MATCH
Another youngster promoted from the Next Gen made his Serie A debut. For Tommaso Barbieri it was not his first team debut having already tasted Champions League action against Paris Saint Germain in November. Still, the 20 year old was one of the main outlets for Juve in a tight first half.
The full-back won a couple of corners, which for once the Bianconeri could not make the most of, leaving Andrea Consigli in the home goal untested over the opening 45 minutes.
The same could be said for Consigli’s opposite number. Mattia Perin cut out two low crosses played into his six-yard penalty area, but also the Juve shotstopper had a quiet first half. Sassuolo winger Nedim Bajrami came closest to testing Perin, but the replacement for the injured Domenico Berardi shot high after finding himself in a useful position on the right side of the penalty area.
Neither side had shown the guile to break down their opponents. After 45 minutes of taking the measure of each other, both teams had to risk something more after the interval to make the breakthrough.
Sassuolo made the first change in an attempt to alter the balance of the game, bringing on Gregoire Defrel at the start of the second half. The substitute brought out a first-class save from Perin on 56 minutes from a corner, which had been awarded after another Perin save from a curling shot from Maxime Lopez.
The home side continued to keep the pressure on the Juve defence, obliging Federico Gatti to make unconventional clearances, first off his own goal line then from a corner he headed against his own post. Sasssuolo’s pressure eventually paid off. From the Neroverdi’s ninth corner, Nicolò Fagioli miss hit his clearance into the path of Defrel, who drilled a low shot into the net.
Massimiliano Allegri threw on Federico Chiesa and Angel Di Maria and the two subs linked up for one of Juve’s most clear cut chances to level. First, however, home keeper Andrea Consigli miraculously kept out Adrien Rabiot’s header. From the resulting corner, Juve kept up the pressure with Chiesa who burst to the heart of the Sassuolo penalty area. His cutback reached Di Maria, who blasted over the crossbar.
Juventus collected corner after corner but never again tested Consigli, resulting in a second consecutive Serie A defeat. The Bianconeri must pick themselves up immediately, on Thursday there is the return leg in Lisbon of the Europa League quarter-finals.
SASSUOLO 1-0 JUVENTUS (HT: 0-0)
SCORERS: 65′ Defrel
SASSUOLO: Consigli; Toljan, Erlic, Tressoldi (89′ Ferrari), Rogerio; Frattesi, Lopez, Henrique (70′ Harroui); Bajrami (77′ Zortea), Pinamonti (46′ Defrel), Laurientè (77′ Ceide). Subs not used: Pegolo, Russo, Marchizza, Alvarez, Obiang, Romagna, D’Andrea, Thorstvedt. Coach: Dionisi.
JUVENTUS: Perin; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; Barbieri (57′ Cuadrado), Paredes (82′ Pogba), Fagioli (66′ Miretti), Rabiot, Kostic (66′ Chiesa); Milik (57′ Di Maria), Vlahovic. Subs not used: Pinsoglio, Bonucci, Rugani, Locatelli, Soulé, Iling-Junior. Coach: Allegri.
REFEREE: Rapuano.
Bookings: 90’+5’ Chiesa
