Juventus fought back twice to draw 2-2 with Fiorentina in a Florence thriller, Nick Woltemade and Gleison Bremer cancelling out goals from Mateo Pellegrino and Alieu Njie at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
Fiorentina led inside four minutes, Woltemade levelled with his first Serie A goal, Njie restored the home lead after the break, and Bremer headed the second equaliser — a point that leaves Juventus seventh going into the international break.
Pellegrino strikes first, Woltemade answers
The Viola made a lightning start. Pedro Goncalves floated a corner to the back post and Pellegrino rose unmarked to head home his fifth goal of the campaign, pulling out the old Gabriel Batistuta celebration in front of the home fans.
Juventus responded with pressure. Weston McKennie headed inches wide from a corner and David De Gea scrambled across to save a Juan Cabal chest-and-volley, before the equaliser arrived on 32 minutes. McKennie sent Randal Kolo Muani down the right, he turned his marker inside out and rolled the ball across for Woltemade to sweep in first time from 10 yards — his first goal in Serie A after three in the Europa League, as detailed in the full Football Italia report.
Kolo Muani kept causing problems, pulling another ball back for Woltemade that De Gea saved well, with Teun Koopmeiners seeing the follow-up deflected wide.
Njie restores the lead, Bremer levels again
Fiorentina went back in front on 54 minutes. Alex Jimenez drove a low cross-shot from the right that Guglielmo Vicario palmed into a crowd, and Njie reacted quickest to bundle the ball over the line — his third consecutive game on target, building on the win at Sassuolo that ended Fiorentina's long wait for a victory.
Franco Mastantuono nearly added a third, cutting inside to drill just wide, but Juventus clawed their way back again on 66 minutes. Douglas Luiz swung in a corner, De Gea hesitated coming off his line, and Bremer anticipated Radu Dragusin to turn the ball in with a combination of head and shoulder.
Both sides finished angry with the referee. Juventus had penalty appeals rejected for a bouncing ball that struck Joao Mario on the arm, while Fiorentina saw a Dragusin header from a Mandragora corner disallowed on 82 minutes for a push on Bremer. In stoppages Vicario parried a Marco Brescianini scorcher and kept out a Mastantuono solo effort, and the points were shared — possession finished 59 per cent to Juventus, with shots 22-18 to Fiorentina and six on target each.
Luciano Spalletti admitted afterwards, in quotes reported by Football Italia, that his side "wallow in doubt" and "tend to drown in a glass of water", doing well for 10 minutes and then lacking consistency for the next 10.
So what does it mean?
Juventus go into the international break seventh on 18 points from 11 rounds — their worst start to a Serie A season since the 15 points of 2021/22 under Massimiliano Allegri — and six points adrift of Milan and the Champions League places. It follows a much better afternoon elsewhere in Serie A for Inter, who beat Como 2-0 at San Siro to move second.
For Fiorentina, the wait for a home league win goes on despite scoring first, but back-to-back positive results after Monday's 4-2 win at Sassuolo at least give the Viola momentum and a platform after taking just two points from the previous five rounds.
Beyond the Final Whistle: A draw that helps nobody's argument. Juventus rescued a point twice through sheer persistence, but a team that concedes inside four minutes, then again from a goalkeeper's parry, and needs its centre-back to score the equaliser is not controlling matches — Spalletti said it himself. Fiorentina will rue letting two leads slip, yet Njie's emergence and Pellegrino's threat show a side finally moving in the right direction.
Juventus fans — is seventh at the break a crisis, or will Spalletti turn this around when the injured players return? Have your say in the comments.
