Juventus clawed their way back from a self-inflicted deficit to secure a turbulent 2-2 draw against Stade Rennais on Thursday night in Turin, driven by an early transition finish from Zeki Çelik and a second-half penalty from Nick Woltemade. After falling behind to two defensive lapses and a handball penalty before the break, the Bianconeri fought back to equalize, only to be denied all three points when an 88th-minute strike from substitute Jhon Lucumí was ruled out for offside.
To navigate the fixture, Luciano Spalletti lined his side up in a 3-5-2 setup. Guglielmo Vicario anchored the goal behind a starting back three of Federico Gatti, Bremer, and Lloyd Kelly. Çelik and Andrea Cambiaso provided width from the wing-back positions, with Teun Koopmeiners and Douglas Luiz occupying the central midfield engine room. Weston McKennie operated in the hole behind a physical starting tandem of Randal Kolo Muani and Woltemade.
Juventus got off to a flying start by defending with high numbers early and striking quickly on the break. In the 5th minute, Woltemade carried the ball forward on a rapid transition before sliding a crisp pass to an underlapping Çelik, who swept it home to give Juve a 1-0 lead. The Bianconeri looked to exploit that right flank early with Çelik’s dynamic runs over the top, but beyond that initial opening blitz, Juve spent much of the match holding heavy possession while struggling to carve out open-play chances against Rennes’ structure.
That early advantage vanished in the 15th minute following two heavy defensive lapses. An unthreatening cross reached the far post, where Cambiaso lost track of Reynolds, allowing the Rennes right-wingback to head the ball back across goal. Gatti then vacated his mark, leaving Mousa Al-Tamari completely open to tap in an easy equalizer.
The match slowed into a patient contest before another defensive error put Juve behind before the interval. Sliding to block a Rennes shot inside the box, Douglas Luiz caught himself on the turf with his extended arm, deflecting the strike with his hand. The referee awarded a penalty despite protests from the home crowd, and Rennes converted from twelve yards to take a 2-1 lead into halftime.
Spalletti’s men responded with urgency after the break and found their equalizer in the 67th minute. After a Rennes defender handled the ball inside the area, Woltemade stepped up to the spot under pressure and drove his penalty straight down the middle to make it 2-2.
The dramatic peak came in the 88th minute when Lucumí, who had been subbed on for Kelly eight minutes prior, chased down a deflected set piece, turned inside, and fired the ball into the back of the net. Brief euphoria turned to frustration, however, as the officials flagged the play for offside, forcing Juve to share the spoils as the final whistle blew.
While the late chalked-off goal stings, the hard-fought point leaves Juventus in a solid position with 7 points from their opening three Europa League fixtures. Spalletti will look to iron out the defensive mistakes quickly as the Bianconeri turn their attention back to Serie A duty, traveling to face Lecce away this Sunday.