Juventus fought back twice against Sassuolo, only for parent-club loanee Adzic to strike in the 94th minute and seal a dramatic 3-2 victory.
Juventus stumbled once again, and this time their defensive blackout proved catastrophic. On the back of their stalemate with Milan, the Bianconeri came undone away to Sassuolo, slipping to a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat at the end of a chaotic period of stoppage time. Spalletti’s men hauled themselves level on two occasions, only to be undone at the death by the ruthless law of the ex as loanee Adzic netted the winner against his parent club.
The contest began at a blistering tempo. Inside the opening two minutes, Nico Gonzalez rattled the crossbar with a ferocious strike from the edge of the area. Juventus continued to probe but lacked conviction in the final third. Their best opening of the first half fell to Teun Koopmeiners, whose effort from a promising position lacked direction and allowed Muric to make a comfortable save.
The second half sparked to life immediately, transforming into an enthralling, end-to-end battle. Seconds after the restart, Alajbegovic forced Muric to turn the ball behind for a corner before Domenico Berardi responded down the other end with his trademark curling left-footed effort, thwarted only by a magnificent save from Vicario.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 65th minute. Berardi traded passes in tight spaces with Nemanja Matic, who threaded an incisive ball through to Sebastiano Esposito. The forward took a steadying touch before arrowing a clinical diagonal finish past Vicario to make it 1-0 to the Neroverdi.
Juventus sought an instant response in the 69th minute through a venomous drive from Douglas Luiz, expertly tipped around the post by Muric. Sassuolo then came agonisingly close to doubling their advantage through Cinquegrano, only for his effort to be chalked off for a marginal offside.
The Bianconeri eventually restored parity in the 82nd minute. Muric made a hash of his clearance and, following Doig’s attempt to intervene, second-half substitute Zhegrova produced a moment of magic, selling his marker a clever dummy before rolling the ball into an unguarded net for 1-1.
It looked set to ignite a late charge from the visitors, but the closing stages descended into sheer drama. In the 88th minute, Sassuolo reclaimed the lead when Bakola embarked on a scintillating solo run and squared for Bowie, who made no mistake from close range to send the Mapei Stadium into delirium at 2-1.
Yet Juventus refused to go quietly. Deep into stoppage time, Zhegrova gathered possession, cut inside onto his favoured left foot, and bent a breathtaking strike into the far corner to claim his brace and drag his side level at 2-2.
Just as the spoils looked certain to be shared, disaster struck in the 94th minute. A fatal lapse in the Juventus backline cleared the path for Adzic, who showed no mercy to his parent club, curling a sensational right-footed strike into the top corner. It was an exquisite winner that capped a breathless victory for Sassuolo, leaving Juventus utterly empty-handed.