Juventus slipped to a 2-0 home defeat against Fiorentina at the Allianz Stadium, leaving Champions League qualification in serious doubt. The loss dropped Juventus to sixth place in Serie A, and Luciano Spalletti’s team now need victory over Torino plus help from other results.
The setback came in Juventus’ final home match of the league season, when a win could have virtually sealed a top-four finish. Instead, triumphs for Napoli, AC Milan, Roma and Como on the same day combined with this defeat to tighten the race around Juventus.
Juventus started with urgency, knowing the stakes, while Fiorentina arrived with little more than pride at play. Despite early pressure from the hosts, Fiorentina struck first as Cher Ndour finished cleverly from a tight
angle on 34 minutes, after neat work from Manor Solomon.
Juventus thought they had an immediate response when Weston McKennie turned the ball in, but that effort was ruled out for a foul on Luca Ranieri. The decision raised tension inside the stadium and added to a sense that key moments were going against Juventus.
Dusan Vlahovic then appeared to have levelled midway through the second half, scoring against the former club. However, a VAR review found that Vlahovic had moved marginally offside before finishing. While the referee checked the monitor, Luca Ranieri, already substituted, received a straight red card for abusive language.
WHAT A MATCH pic.twitter.com/UMVbCmMpWGACF Fiorentina English (@ACFFiorentinaEN) May 17, 2026
Fiorentina punished Juventus again late on, despite being down to ten players. Rolando Mandragora curled a precise strike into the top-left corner, sealing a 2-0 away win and leaving Juventus’ Champions League hopes "hanging by a thread" after a season that had once promised more.
Juventus controlled much of the play but struggled with efficiency at both ends. Ndour’s opener was Fiorentina’s first shot on target, continuing a worrying pattern where Juventus often concede early from opponents’ initial accurate attempts on goal in Serie A.
Data underlined the contrast between Juventus’ volume and Fiorentina’s precision. The hosts registered 26 shots and generated 1.96 expected goals, yet failed to score. Fiorentina created far fewer chances but made them count, despite only a modest expected goals total and limited penalty-area presence.
| Team | Shots | Expected Goals (xG) | Touches in Opponents’ Box |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juventus | 26 | 1.96 | 55 |
| Fiorentina | – | 0.47 | 19 |
Across the Serie A campaign, Juventus have now conceded from 46% of their opponents’ first shots on target, with 16 goals from 35 such efforts, the highest rate among all teams. This trend again surfaced when Fiorentina scored with their first meaningful attempt.
The defeat ended a 10-match unbeaten league run for Juventus and deepened concerns about the overall season. Fiorentina extended a positive sequence, going four consecutive Serie A games without losing to Juventus for the first time since the period between April 2006 and August 2008.
The atmosphere at the Allianz Stadium reflected the pressure on Juventus, who knew Champions League football was within reach before kick-off. Now, attention turns to the derby against Torino, where Juventus must win and then watch other results to determine whether this campaign still brings a top-four finish.
