Woltemade stars twice as Juventus scrape Europa League draw with Rennes
A penalty and an assist from Nick Woltemade rescued a 2-2 draw for struggling Juventus against Rennes, with a late Jhon Lucumi winner ruled out at Juventus Stadium.
Juventus needed two moments from Nick Woltemade just to salvage a point against Rennes, and even that point arrived only after Jhon Lucumi's late winner was chalked off, Football Italia reported.
The 2-2 draw in the Europa League left Massimiliano Allegri's side with their unbeaten continental record intact, but it did little to settle the alarm around a club that had been beaten 3-0 at home by Lazio in Serie A only days earlier.
Juventus arrived at the match missing Francisco Conceicao, Kenan Yildiz, Manuel Locatelli, Jeff Ekhator and Kamil Grabara to injury, with Edon Zhegrova left off the UEFA squad list altogether, according to Football Italia.
Rennes, for their part, were without top scorer Esteban Lepaul because of an ankle injury and had reshuffled into a three-man defence following a draw at Sturm Graz and a 2-1 win over OFI Crete.
A back-three wrinkle set up both penalties
Rennes' switch to three centre-backs was the shape that defined the first half of the contest, giving Mahamadou Nagida license to break forward from deeper positions and test Guglielmo Vicario from range.
It was from that same structure that Rennes won their first penalty: a cleared corner fell to another Nagida volley, and Douglas Luiz, losing his footing, blocked it with his arm. The referee pointed to the spot immediately, and Boulaye Dia sent Vicario the wrong way to level the tie.
Juventus responded by abandoning their own back three after the hour, bringing on Nico Gonzalez and reverting to a flat back four. The change paid off within minutes: Gonzalez headed down a Douglas Luiz free kick that struck Bryan Reynolds' arm, handing Juventus a penalty of their own, which Woltemade sent straight down the middle to make it 2-2.
The symmetry is worth noting. Both goals that drew the sides level came from penalties conceded by defenders reacting to second-ball situations rather than from open-play breakdowns, which says less about individual error and more about how combative both boxes were around set pieces and knockdowns all evening.
Woltemade's double act with Kolo Muani
For the first time this season, Juventus started Woltemade and Randal Kolo Muani together up front, and the German forward justified the pairing inside five minutes.
His slide-rule pass sprung the offside trap and sent Zeki Celik clear down the right, and the full-back beat Bryce Samba with an angled finish to open the scoring.
Rennes hit back almost immediately when Reynolds knocked a cross back across goal for Musa Al-Taamari to turn in from six yards, a rapid response that exposed how little defensive security Juventus had despite the early breakthrough.
Woltemade's second contribution, the converted penalty after Gonzalez's introduction, meant he was directly involved in both Juventus goals, either side of two separate spot-kicks awarded for arm contact in the box.
Chances went begging at both ends
Juventus had the clearer route to all three points before Rennes' leveller. Federico Gatti's header was turned away by a strong Samba save, and Weston McKennie then had a glaring opportunity of his own, denied first by Samba before striking the upright from point-blank range on the rebound.
Vicario was required to be similarly alert at the other end, saving from Al-Taamari after the forward cut inside from the left, while Andrea Cambiaso atoned for an earlier lapse that had sparked a Rennes break by cutting out a dangerous Nagida cross.
Pierre Kalulu, introduced at the restart, almost put Juventus ahead within four minutes, nodding an Andrea Cambiaso cross narrowly wide in a collision with Nagida that left both players needing attention.
None of it was enough to avoid a draw that, by Football Italia's account, ended with Lucumi's effort ruled out late on, denying Juventus what would have been a third win from three in this season's league phase.
The result keeps Juventus unbeaten in the Europa League after wins over NEC and Celta Vigo, but the underlying picture from Turin was of a side still prone to lapses at the back even as Woltemade's early-season form continues to stand out.