Sassuolo 1-0 Juventus: Massimilano Allegri’s side are beaten for the second league game in a row
Sassuolo 1-0 Juventus: Massimilano Allegri’s side are beaten for second consecutive Serie A game to remain seventh – NINE points clear of Champions League qualification after Gregoire Defrel’s milestone
- Gregoire Defrel opened the scoring with his 50th Serie A goal after 64 minutes
- Sassuolo goalkeeper Andrea Consigli made excellent saves to keep his team in it
- Juventus did not look convincing for the first time this year
Juventus fell to a 1-0 defeat at Sassuolo after a second-half goal from substitute Gregoire Defrel earned Serie A points on Sunday, condemning Massimiliano Allegri’s side to consecutive league defeats for the first time this season.
Juventus, seventh in the standings with 44 points, missed the chance to close the gap to the top six, trailing Atalanta by four points, who will visit ninth-placed Fiorentina on Monday.
For Juventus, who took a small step towards the last four of the Europa League with a 1-0 home win over Sporting in the first leg of their quarter-final on Thursday, this was the first consecutive defeat in Serie A since October 2021.
Juve lost 2-1 at Lazio in their last league match.
After a tentative start on Sunday, the game came to life when Sassuolo midfielder Maxime Lopez challenged Juventus goalkeeper Mattia Perin with a header in the 55th minute.
Gregoire Defrel scored his 50th Serie A goal in his 250th league game against Juventus
Juventus have now recorded back-to-back defeats in Serie A for the first time this season
Sassuolo climbs to 10th in the table as Juve are nine points clear of the top four
A minute later, Perin made another brilliant save to keep out Defrel’s towering header from a corner kick.
However, the half-time substitute finally broke the deadlock in the 64th minute by firing into the right post on the rebound from a corner kick.
Nine minutes later, Juve came close to equalizing through Adrien Rabiot who jumped into the penalty area to hit Angel Di Maria’s corner, but goalkeeper Andrea Consigli turned the ball superbly over the crossbar.
Di Maria, who replaced Arkadiusz Milik just before the hour mark, had a chance fifteen minutes before the end when he encountered a sublime cross from Federico Chiesa, but narrowly missed the goal.
Allegri put on Paul Pogba in the last 10 minutes for the Frenchman’s third league appearance in an injury-plagued season, but the Turin side came no closer to scoring.
Juventus, for whom winning the Europa League remains their most likely route to next season’s Champions League, will take on Sporting in Lisbon on Thursday in their second leg in the Europa League before hosting the Serie A runaway next Sunday leader Napoli.
Sassuolo, who has moved up three places to 10th with 40 points from 30 games, travels to Salernitana on Saturday.
Sixteenth-placed Lecce, five points above the relegation zone, drew 1-1 at home to Sampdoria, who are rooted at the bottom of the table 10 points adrift of the safety line, while Torino, in eleventh, are the same score against 15th place. Salernitana installed.