Woltemade rescues Juventus point in 2-2 draw with Rennes as Lucumi winner is ruled out by VAR
Juventus hold on for 2-2 draw after VAR rules out late winner
Juventus saw their perfect Europa League start end on Thursday as they drew 2-2 with Rennes, with Jhon Lucumi's last-gasp winner disallowed for offside. The Bianconeri had arrived at the match in dismal Serie A form after a 3-0 home defeat to Lazio, but had beaten NEC 5-0 and come back to win 2-1 at Celta Vigo to top the league-phase standings.
Luciano Spalletti's side made the ideal start in the fifth minute. Nick Woltemade timed a slide-rule pass perfectly to send Zeki Celik down the right and spring the offside trap, and Celik beat Brice Samba with an angled drive.
Rennes responded quickly. Bryan Reynolds knocked a cross back to the far post, and Musa Al-Taamari turned in from six yards to level the scores in the 15th minute.
Rennes take lead from controversial penalty
Samba made a fine save to deny Federico Gatti's header, and Weston McKennie twice went close, first being denied by Samba and then hitting the upright on the rebound. Guglielmo Vicario also saved well from Mahamadou Nagida at the far post.
Rennes were awarded a penalty in the 43rd minute when Douglas Luiz's arm charged down a Nagida volley. Boulaye Dia, the former Lazio striker, converted the spot-kick, sending Vicario the wrong way. Fotmob noted that the decision was harsh on Juventus, but the referee spotted the handball immediately.
Woltemade equalises from the spot
Juventus switched to a four-man defence and introduced Nico Gonzalez on the hour mark. The Argentine's header from a Douglas Luiz free kick struck Reynolds on the arm, and the referee pointed to the spot. Woltemade sent Samba the wrong way from the penalty spot in the 67th minute to make it 2-2.
Juventus pressed for a winner. Woltemade had two headers from six yards in quick succession, one deflected and one sailing wide. Teun Koopmeiners fired a long-range effort straight at Samba.
Lucumi goal ruled out by VAR
Juventus thought they had completed the turnaround in the 88th minute. A free kick was flicked on by Koopmeiners and ricocheted into the path of Lucumi, who drilled in from 12 yards after a deflection off Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal. However, VAR found Lucumi was offside when Koopmeiners made the initial flick, and the goal was disallowed.
Fotmob's match data showed Juventus took 14 shots and generated 2.21 expected goals, while Rennes had 16 shots and 1.71 xG. Woltemade has now scored in all three of his Europa League appearances for Juventus, making him only the third Bianconeri player to score in his first three outings in major European competitions, after Darko Kovacevic in 1999 and Roberto Baggio in 1990. He has yet to score in five Serie A appearances, all from the bench.
Juventus 2-2 Rennes
Celik 6' (J), Al-Taamari 15' (R), Dia pen 43' (R), Woltemade pen 67' (J)
Juventus were without Francisco Conceicao, Kenan Yildiz, Manuel Locatelli, Jeff Ekhator and Kamil Grabara through injury, while Edon Zhegrova was not on the UEFA list. Rennes were missing top scorer Esteban Lepaul with an ankle injury.