Socrates

Will Juventus & Spalletti pen a new contract during the international break? Juventus and Luciano Spalletti appear to be a whisker away from finalising their agreement on a new contract. The Certaldo native was appointed in late October following Igor Tudor’s dismissal. The latter had endured a torrid run at the start of the season, and failed to win any of his last eight matches in charge. On the other hand, Spalletti’s arrival sparked a gradual improvement on all levels, even if the club’s most recent results confirm that there’s a long way to go before reclaiming their rightful place among the elite. ............ The two parties are only details away from reaching a final accord. Spalletti’s current contract is set to expire at the end of the season, but he’s now expected to pen a new deal valid until June 2027, with an option for another year. The international break will grant Juventus and Spalletti the opportunity to sort out the remaining details in a serene atmosphere. ............ Spalletti is expected to earn a net salary of €6 million starting next season. . Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/will-juventus-spalletti-pen-a-new-contract-during-the-international-break/

Juventus 1 - Sassuolo 1: Initial reaction and random observations Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli stepped up to the penalty spot in the final game of the 2024-25 season last May. With his team’s Champions League hopes were hanging in the balance, he took about as cold-blooded penalty as we’ve seen from a Juve player in a few years. The moment, the stakes, everything that came with it certainly ran through his head before making contact with the ball. But on that nice in Venice, he was nails. Fast forward to Juve’s final game before the international break 10 months later, the same cannot be said about that same player stepping up to the penalty spot. Of course, that was in the season finale. This penalty kick came with eight games on the schedule still to play. But it’s hard not to think of the ramifications of what Locatelli absolutely flubbing his 87th-minute attempt from the penalty spot and ultimately sending Juventus to a 1-1 draw against a Sassuolo side that they absolutely hammered all of 2 1/2 months ago. With the team directly in front of Juventus still to play this weekend, Luciano Spalletti could very much be watching his team fall three points behind Como by the time lunchtime is over on Sunday. No matter how you feel about the penalty — and it certainly looked far from conclusive considering the angles and replays that we were given during the lengthy VAR review — it was a golden chance for Juventus to get a go-ahead goal with only minutes to go. And they completely whiffed on it. Some may say that the ball don’t lie. That is true. Others will also say that this result was more a by-product of Juventus not putting Sassuolo away when they had the chance in the first half and then looking completely out of whack following the equalizer all of a few minutes out of halftime. Both parts are very much the truth — and it all added up to Juve dropping points in a game in which they couldn’t knowing who Como has on the schedule this weekend. ............ You aren’t going to jump into fourth place playing like this. The more you drop points, the more you’re going to demand that you need to be near-perfect over the course of the final eight games. And if there’s one thing this Juventus squad have proven to us both this season and in previous iterations, long winning runs is not something that they can do on a regular basis. In the end, though, it pretty much is just a microcosm of Juventus’ struggles up front this season. They had eight shots on goal and scored just once. Sassuolo had seven shots — total. I’m guessing you won’t be surprised to hear the news that Juve allowed a goal on Sassuolo’s first shot on target on Saturday. You know, the kind of thing that Juventus have been doing all season long. This game should have been put away well before any sort of last-minute penalty might have been needed. But outside of Kenan Yildiz’s 10th goal of the Serie A season, Juventus were unable to convert much of anything. While it’s true that Sassuolo goalkeeper Arijanet Muric hulked up and kept his team in the game, the lack of Juve putting another team away came back to bite them right in the c**o. We don’t know if it will end up costing them a spot in the Champions League next season just yet. But it’s hard not to think that they are only so many get of jail free cards left for this team before they are in even more serious of danger than they may well be right now. Juventus can’t afford to drop many more points this season — and this has been the case for weeks now. Yet, on Saturday night, they weren’t able to get more than a single goal during a first half in which they were clearly the better side and then it came back to haunt them. Not exactly the best way to go into an international break that is already going to be tense as hell for pretty much every person with Italian heritage. ............ RANDOM THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS Just when you think they might be starting to snap out of whatever the hell was wrong with them in February, Juve go and drop this kind of result on us. Not great, Bob! Boy, I sure didn’t expect to be feeling this kind of way when I saw Juve go coast-to-coast in the span of 12 seconds and take a 1-0 lead through Yildiz. That looked the beginning of something good. Instead, it turned out to be the high point before things just took a complete nosedive. A whooping cough outbreak within the squad? Are we back in 2020 again? Or is this just a weird kind of second edition of all the madness that 2020 proved to be? ............ What in the yellow hell is that Sassuolo away kit? I’m glad we don’t have to see that again? What was worse to look out: Sassuolo’s away kit or Juventus’ second-half performance? Yeah, hard to pick! Juventus’ first shot on goal was a wide-open header from Locatelli. Just as we all predicted it would be. (Was a good save on it, too — credit where credit is due because that’s what we do here.) Then again, it was a much better header than whatever the heck that penalty kick attempt was. I will say, though, I have no problem Locatelli taking the penalty kick. The sample size of him taking PKs is still small, but he’s been good up until this point. Yildiz has barely taken any PKs as a professional. Dusan Vlahovic was out for four months and probably rusty as all hell when it comes to those pressure-packed situations no matter how much his league-high salary may tell us otherwise. It was Locatelli’s chance to be The Man and live up to the captain’s billing. Instead, he sent a pretty easy shot right at Muric. ............ Juve needed a goal and Jonathan David and Loïs Openda were nowhere to be found. I repeat, Arek Milik, who hadn’t played in almost two full seasons, was a better option in Spalletti’s eyes than either one of those two summer signings. What’s the use of spending so much money on these new attackers then? Spalletti clearly has lost faith in David and Openda and it’s hard to see a way forward with them beyond this season if this is how it’s going to be the next two months. Yes, that being said, if you’re going to spam the ball into the box, then guys like Vlahovic and Milik who are better in the air is the right call. Just didn’t expect Milik to make his triumphant return in such a desperate kind of situation where Juve needed to score. It’s good to hear the reception those two guys but especially Milik got as they came on. Man has been through it and deserved a warm welcome back onto the field. ............ I miss the happiness that came with that counterattack on Yildiz’s goal. That outlet pass from Mattia Perin was a thing of beauty. I honestly didn’t know he had that in him. The run from Francisco Conceição? Wonderful. The one-time finish from Yildiz? Beautiful. That was supposed to be the ignition point and what we all hoped would become another win. Nope, we were all wrong. Juventus’ bad side came back to play. I hate it all. ............ Credit to Khephren Thuram for playing 70 minutes after passing a late fitness test. But man, there were some moments and turnovers in this game that had you wondering just how fit he actually was. Also, I’m a little worried about Bremer. He didn’t look very good on the Sassuolo goal. Not at all. ............ Read more -> https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/previews-reviews/37325/juventus-sassuolo-2026-serie-a-matchday-30-final-score-result-initial-reaction-random-observations

Juventus wasted third consecutive penalty after Spalletti confirmation of debate Luciano Spalletti confirmed Kenan Yildiz wanted to take the penalty against Sassuolo, but Manuel Locatelli was given the ball, leading to the third consecutive failed Juventus spot-kick. ............ Kenan Yildiz had scored the opener, cancelled out by Andrea Pinamonti, and Dusan Vlahovic’s header struck Jay Idzes on the arm for a late penalty. ............ What the cameras perhaps did not capture was the conversation going on when the VAR call was being made, as Yildiz was standing near the spot, hoping to be given the ball. Instead, Spalletti called Locatelli over to the touchline, and after a brief conversation, the midfielder went over to inform Yildiz of the decision. It didn’t pay off, as Locatelli’s weak and central penalty was smothered by Arijanet Muric. “Locatelli came over and told me he felt ready to take it,” Spalletti confirmed. “There were two or three players who wanted to step up, but Locatelli is the designated taker. It’s fine, anyone can miss a penalty, we are just disappointed about not bringing home the victory.” ............ This means Juventus have now failed to convert three consecutive Serie A penalty kicks with three different players. Jonathan David got it wrong in another stalemate with Lecce, while Yildiz was denied in a 5-0 victory over Cremonese. In total, the Bianconeri have received seven Serie A penalties this term, converting four of them. Locatelli remains their best taker, converting two out of his three, while Kenan Yildiz has a 50 per cent rate. ............ . Read more -> https://football-italia.net/juventus-miss-3-consecutive-penalty-spalletti/

Spalletti: ‘Juventus deserved to win, but often made wrong choices’ Luciano Spalletti was torn between praise and criticism of his Juventus players after a 1-1 draw with Sassuolo. ‘We created so many chances, but often made the wrong decisions.’ ............ They had taken the lead through Kenan Yildiz, but when Andrea Pinamonti equalised, Manuel Locatelli saw the late opportunity to win it go to waste with Arijanet Muric’s penalty save. This is the third consecutive penalty that Juventus have failed to convert in Serie A, after Kenan Yildiz and Jonathan David also made mistakes. “When you play with four at the back, you have to spread the ball and surround them, so you create one-on-one situations. I kept telling them to find Yildiz and Conceicao, because Sassuolo were pinned back into their own penalty area,” Spalletti said. “If you play through the middle and lose the ball, you struggle to get it back. If you lose it out wide, you can stop the counter and win it back quickly. Instead, we made decisions that in the long run we paid a price for, because too many times we didn’t make the right choices, there wasn’t enough maturity. “We conceded the equaliser, created quite a few situations similar to the one that Sassuolo scored, we had at least 10 of those, but we weren’t reactive enough, didn’t make the smartest choices.” ............ “Perin and Conceicao made the right decisions there, but Conceicao had another six of those situations in the first half alone where he chose the wrong option, or he had a bad shot, or he passed it to Kalulu who missed the finish past the far post. When you do not execute the chances you create, you pay for that eventually,” explained Spalletti. “Considering the chances and the way we poured forward to the end, I think if we had won, then it would’ve been deserved.” ............ “We are distraught with disappointment for the result, but smile anyway, because we create so many situations where we could’ve won it, but we have to accept the result. There were some good things in the second half, even if we moved the ball a bit too slowly,” noted the coach. There was some good news for Juventus too, because in a late double substitution Spalletti gave Dusan Vlahovic his first appearance since the end of November 2025, and Arek Milik his first game since May 2024. ............ . Read more -> https://football-italia.net/spalletti-juventus-deserved-win-wrong-choices/

Juventus drop precious points in 1-1 draw with Sassuolo Juventus played out a 1-1 draw at home to Sassuolo this evening, with Manuel Locatelli missing a costly spot kick. Sassuolo came into the match with confidence after winning two of their last five meetings against Juventus, and they believed they could achieve a positive result in this fixture. ............ Juventus began the game strongly, showing their desire to gain an early advantage. Sassuolo attempted to contain them, but after 14 minutes, Juventus took the lead through Kenan Yildiz. The goal put the hosts in front and allowed them to continue pressing for another. The home side remained focused on extending its lead, knowing how important it was to create a margin against a team capable of responding. Despite their efforts, they were unable to score again before halftime. Sassuolo still produced some dangerous moments during the first half, but Juventus held on to their lead going into the interval. ............ The visitors made a strong start to the second half and equalised almost immediately through Andrea Pinamonti. The goal brought the game level and ensured there was still enough time for either side to find a winner. Juventus later had a major opportunity to regain the lead when they were awarded a penalty, but Locatelli missed the spot kick. From that point, the task became more difficult for the hosts. In response, Juventus introduced Dušan Vlahović and Arkadiusz Milik in an attempt to find a winning goal. ............ . Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/juventus-drop-precious-points-in-1-1-draw-with-sassuolo/

“Incredible to be back” – Juventus striker thanks the fans after overcoming injury nightmare Juventus attacker Arkadiusz Milik was delighted with his return to action after almost two years of agony. The Polish striker had been on the sidelines since suffering a knee injury in June 2024 while on international duty. The 32-year-old thus missed the entire reigns of Thiago Motta and Igor Tudor, but has finally put himself at Luciano Spaletti’s disposal. On Saturday, Milik entered the pitch for the first time in 665 days, coming in as a substitute in the 79th minute against Sassuolo. ............ Although the double-attacking introduction wasn’t enough to change the result, with Juventus settling for a disappointing 1-1 draw at home, both returnees made an impact. ............ On the other hand, Milik almost marked his return by claiming the winner, but his close-range header was somehow kept out by the Sassuolo goalkeeper, who eventually earned MVP honours. ............ After the contest, Milik expressed his gratitude for all the support he received in a social media post. “It wasn’t the result we wanted. But after everything it took to get back here, it was incredible to be back on the pitch last night,” he wrote on Instagram. “The welcome from the fans meant a lot. Thank you all for the support.” Milik was said to be heading towards the exit door at the end of the season, with the hierarchy considering rescinding his contract, which will expire in 2027. ............ . Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/arkadiusz-milik-thanks-juventus-supporters/

Serie A | Juventus 1-1 Sassuolo – Player Ratings: Muric saves Neroverdi from Yildiz-inspired Bianconeri Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw by Sassuolo at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday evening, with a first half goal from Kenan Yildiz cancelled out by an Andrea Pinamonti equaliser in the second. Late in the match, Sassuolo goalkeeper Arijanet Muric saved a Manuel Locatelli penalty, after a Jay Idzes handball. ............ Juventus 1-1 Sassuolo – Player Ratings Juventus: Perin 6.5; Kalulu 6.5, Bremer 5.5, Kelly 6 (Vlahovic 6.5), Cambiaso 5.5 (Miretti 5.5); Thuram 5.5 (Koopmeiners 5.5), Locatelli 5; Conceicao 7 (Zhegrova N/A), McKennie 5.5, Boga 5.5 (Milik 6); Yildiz 7 Best Juventus player: Kenan Yildiz – To nobody’s surprise, was once again the best Juventus player on the pitch. Took his goal well from the edge of the box to give the Bianconeri the lead and was unlucky not to have an assist, despite creating several great chances. Lowest Juventus rating: Manuel Locatelli – Penalty miss aside, he was ineffective and struggled to leave his mark on the midfield. Then, when you factor in the penalty, which was saved well by Muric, turns into a pretty bad day at the office for the Italian. Coach: Luciano Spalletti 6 – Couldn’t quite get his side to work right this evening, the coach will be frustrated after missing out on the three points. His substitutes added little to their efforts to score a late winner, aside from Dusan Vlahovic winning the penalty, although it was nice to see both Vlahovic and Milik back in action. Sassuolo: Muric 8; Walukiewicz 5.5, Idzes 5.5, Muharemovic 7, Garcia 5.5; Kone 6, Vranckx 5.5 (Iannoni N/A), Bakola 5.5 (Lauriente 6); Berardi 6.5 (Doig N/A), Pinamonti 7 (Nzola N/A), Volpato 6.5 (Lipani 6) Best Sassuolo Player: Arijanet Muric - ............ Lowest Sassuolo rating: Jay Idzes – ............ Coach: Fabio Grosso 7 – ............ . Read more -> https://football-italia.net/serie-a-juventus-1-1-sassuolo-player-ratings/

Serie A | Juventus 1-1 Sassuolo: Old Lady stall despite whooping cough crisis A Sassuolo side decimated by a whooping cough outbreak managed to stall Juventus, as Andrea Pinamonti replied to Kenan Yildiz, with Manuel Locatelli’s late penalty saved. The Bianconeri were back in the hunt for Champions League spots after a 3-3 draw at Roma and two straight wins, as Jeremie Boga was chosen to lead the attack flanked by Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceicao from the start. ............ Juventus broke through with some route one football, as Mattia Perin captured a corner and immediately launched Conceicao down the right with a long ball, the Portuguese talent cut inside and rolled across for Kenan Yildiz to sweep into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. It was his 10th Serie A goal of the season, a new personal best. Khephren Thuram surged forward to sting Muric’s gloves, the goalkeeper also pushing a Yildiz looping effort over the bar, but Sassuolo threatened too when Andrea Pinamonti nodded over from point-blank range at the back post when Jay Idzes flicked on a corner. ............ On the stroke of half-time, only a decisive Lloyd Kelly toe deflection took the Domenico Berardi roll across away from Ulisses Garcia, who was ready to tap in from six yards. Sassuolo equalised with a similar move after the restart, as Cristian Volpato sent Berardi down the right, and this time Pinamonti was there to meet it from close range, getting in front of Gleison Bremer. ............ Conceicao stood up a cross to the far post for a Boga free header, but was denied by the sensational Muric reaction save. There was a very special moment, as Juventus gave Dusan Vlahovic his first game since November 2025, and Arkadiusz Milik had his first competitive appearance since May 25, 2024. Vlahovic made an immediate impact, as his header struck Idzes on the arm and it was spotted by VAR for a late Juventus penalty. However, Locatelli stepped up and the weak, central spot-kick was smothered by Muric. It was the third consecutive penalty that Juventus failed to convert in Serie A. Idzes made up for the error with a crucial clearance to stop Vlahovic tapping in the Kalulu cross, then Muric made a desperate save on the line from the Milik towering header and the attempted Vlahovic follow-up. Kenan Yildiz fired over from a tricky angle with his left foot deep into stoppages. Juventus 1-1 Sassuolo Yildiz 14 (J), Pinamonti 52 (S) Saved penalty: Locatelli 87 (J) . Read more -> https://football-italia.net/serie-a-juventus-1-1-sassuolo-old-lady-stall/

Rigore per la Juve?

McKennie va a marcare Berardi. Cambiaso fuori

Le celebrazioni dopo il gol di Kenan https://x.com/i/status/2035447860636889122

Abbiamo Milik

Thuram prova a fare il 2-0