A surprise goal from Mateo Pellegrino stunned Juventus and handed Igor Tudor his first loss as head coach of the Bianconeri.
Juventus fell 1-0 to Parma on Wednesday evening in a rescheduled Serie A clash from Week 33. The defeat came on the road, with the visitors unable to find a breakthrough despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession.
Dusan Vlahovic and Randal Kolo Muani led the line for Juventus, as Kenan Yildiz remained on the bench, not fully fit. Vlahovic came closest to scoring in the first half, but he fired wide from a tight angle in one of the Bianconeri’s few clear chances.
Despite controlling the tempo, Juventus struggled to break through Parma’s compact defensive setup. The hosts capitalized on one of their rare attacking moments just before the break, when Pellegrino rose high to meet an Emanuele Valenti cross, beating Michele Di Gregorio with a powerful header to give Parma a shock lead.
At halftime, Vlahovic was forced off with a thigh injury and replaced by Francisco Conceição, who injected some energy into the attack. Still, Juventus couldn’t generate many meaningful chances. Yildiz also came on later in the second half, taking the place of Weston McKennie, but the young talent couldn’t alter the course of the match.
Parma continued to threaten on the counter, with Simon Sohm testing Di Gregorio, although his tame effort was easily saved. On the other end, Zion Suzuki denied Kolo Muani’s low drive from distance.
In the closing stages, Juventus attempted to find an equalizer through a flurry of crosses, but Parma’s defense held firm. Suzuki confidently claimed high balls and marshaled his box well to preserve the clean sheet.
The defeat sees Juventus fall one point behind fourth-placed Bologna and level with Lazio, who claimed a 2-0 win at Genoa earlier in the day.
