Any irony that might have been left, in the entire world, Juventus\u2019 game against Sassuolo on Sunday obliterated it. You remember the \u201cpuny god\u201d scene with Hulk and Loki at the end of the original Avengers movie? Loki is the irony.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The sequence of events that led to Sassuolo\u2019s 3-2 victory on the last kick of the game was absurd. After Juventus equalized the Neroverdi twice in the game\u2019s final 10 minutes \u2014 including in stoppage time for the second consecutive game \u2014 for it to come down to a shot by Vasilije Adzic was mind-bending. Mind-bending because a midfielder like Adzic would\u2019ve been incredibly useful given Juventus\u2019 current injury crisis. Mind-bending \u2014 no, mind-shattering<\/em> \u2014 because it was a year to the day<\/strong><\/em> since Adzic had scored his first Serie A goal for Juventus. You know the one. The long-distance missile that won a crazy Derby d\u2019Italia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n There were so many things about this game that one could talk about. Juventus\u2019 completely stagnant attack certainly deserves mention. So does the complete breakdown of a defense that, through the season\u2019s first three weeks, was at least looking like something that the club could hang their hat on. Even the late double by Edon Zhegrova, who deserved such an outing after such a rough first year in Turn. But ultimately, the result \u2014 a backbreaking loss \u2014 and the guy who inflicted it just keeps on sticking out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I mean, a year to the day!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Luciano Spalletti\u2019s choices were incredibly limited heading into the match, missing eight players going into the game. Manuel Locatelli and J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Boga were new additions to that club this week, joining Kenan Yildiz, Weston McKennie, Andrea Cambiaso, Kh\u00e9phren Thuram, Jeff Ekhator, and Juan Cabal. Guglielmo Vicario started in goal behind Spalletti\u2019s usual 4-2-3-1. Pierre Kalulu, Bremer, Jhon Lucum\u00ed, and Zeki \u00c7elik made up the back four, while Teun Koopmeiners took over for Locatelli next to Douglas Luiz in the double pivot. Francico Concie\u00e7\u00e3o, Nico Gonz\u00e1lez, and Kerim Alajbegovic started behind Randal Kolo Muani in attack. It was the first starting lineup in club history to have no Italian outfield players, according to Opta records<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Opposite Spalletti in the dugout was his former midfielder \u2014 and onetime Juventus player \u2014 Alberto Aquilani. They younger coach was also missing some important names, particularly Cristian Volpato. Fali Cand\u00e9, Daniel Boloca, Edoardo Pieragnolo and Ismael Kon\u00e9 joined him in the stands, with Kieron Bowie only fit for the bench. Aquilani mirrored his old boss\u2019 setup, sending out keeper Arijanet Muric behind Simone Cinquegrano, Fedde Leysen, Jay Idzes, and Josh Doig in defense. Thirty-eight-year-old Nemanja Matic joined 21-year-old Luca Lipani in midfield, while Domenico Berardi, Kristian Thorstvedt, and Armand Laurient\u00e9 started in support of Sebastian Esposito.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The game very nearly started with a bang when \u00c7elik and Alajbegovic matriculated the ball down the left side and fed in Gonz\u00e1lez, who clipped the top of the crossbar with his right foot. But after that, things started to fizzle. It took nearly 20 minutes for either side to register another shot, a blocked effort by Alajbegovic. Close to the half hour mark Vicario jumped off his line to deny Berardi after he had scooped the ball to him by Esposito. The striker took matters into his own hands a few moments later but missed the far post, and Vicario would\u2019ve covered it had he not. Berardi had a rip at a volley off a defensive header but put it right at Vicario, but that moment punctuated just how little went down in a very uneventful first half.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Lucum\u00ed was pulled at halftime for Lloyd Kelly after picking up a booking midway through the first, a move that, while sensible at the time, turned into a major problem later on. Alajbegovic forced Muric into action within 50 seconds of the restart, while Sassuolo continued to look their most dangerous on the counter, with Berardi forcing Vicario into a diving parry just a few minutes later. Alajbegovic again forced Muric into a parry from long range, but Juve still struggled to find the kind of play to completely break the hosts down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It was with 25 minutes left when the defensive lapses started. Somehow, Bremer and Kalulu managed to let Esposito stand alone in a massive swath of space, making it easy for Matic to roll the ball into the right channel for the striker to finish across a stranded Vicario.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Douglas Luiz was close to an instant response, but his shot three minutes after play restarted was palmed away by Muric. But the big Kosovo international was less effective in the 82nd minute. He came for a cross from the left but didn\u2019t get anything on it, and the ball dropped to Zhegrova on the other side of the field. The defense scrambled to cover with Muric out of place, but Zhegrova let the shooting lane open up after Muric committed himself and slotted the ball into the far bottom corner to tie the score and finally tally his first official goal in a Juventus shirt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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