Juventus held by Rennes as Spalletti questions VAR and strikers alike
A stoppage-time goal was chalked off, two forwards started together for the first time, and Luciano Spalletti left Turin unconvinced on both counts after Juventus drew 2-2 with Rennes.
Juventus failed to beat Rennes in Turin on Thursday, drawing 2-2 in the Europa League after Jhon Lucumí's 88th-minute goal was ruled out for offside, Football Italia reported.
Lucumí had turned in a flick-on from Teun Koopmeiners at a free kick, only for VAR to judge Koopmeiners offside at the exact moment he touched the ball. Spalletti said afterwards that he "didn't understand it" and would review the decision, adding that he was "surprised and disappointed" when he saw the replay in the dressing room.
Why the offside call divides opinion
The confusion is rooted in how offside law treats a flick-on. The relevant moment is not when the free kick is struck but when the second player, Koopmeiners, makes contact with the ball, because that touch starts a fresh phase of play. If he was marginally beyond the last defender at that instant, the goal falls regardless of what Lucumí does next.
Spalletti's objection was that the Rennes defender had a chance to deal with the ball and was not obstructed by Lucumí. That is a fair description of how the passage looked in real time, but it is a different question from whether the law was correctly applied. He admitted as much himself, saying he thought he understood the rule but now had "a lot of doubts," while still rating the officiating overall as strong.
Two strikers, not yet one partnership
Nick Woltemade and Randal Kolo Muani started together in a competitive fixture for the first time, and the result was lopsided. Woltemade set up Zeki Çelik's opener and converted the equalising penalty, while Kolo Muani struggled to get into the game and was withdrawn ten minutes from time.
That split points to a pairing still searching for its rhythm rather than a finished partnership. Two forwards occupying the same central lane need staggered movement: one dropping to link play and draw a marker out, the other timing a run in behind into the space that creates. On this evidence it was Woltemade doing the connecting work, which left Kolo Muani often isolated against a settled Rennes back line rather than running onto service.
Spalletti made clear he sees more in the combination than Thursday produced. "Today they did well, but I think I can expect more from both of them, because their qualities are greater than the performance they gave tonight," he said, adding that what the pair generate together "isn't just the sum of their individual qualities" and that in time they could function as if there were three forwards rather than two.
That is a specific claim about how their profiles should interact in buildup, not just a compliment on effort, and it sets a clear benchmark for how he will judge the next time they start together.
The defensive line Spalletti wants to erase
The draw followed a 3-0 defeat to Lazio on Sunday, and Spalletti framed the response positively, saying he was satisfied with the attitude shown in clawing back a deficit and praising Rennes as a side with quick, technical players and a strong academy.
His sharper point concerned shape rather than morale. He said Juventus still default to sitting deep in a low block when matches get difficult, a habit he argued no longer fits the demands of the modern game. His remedy was built around pressing choices: gaining ground by picking the right moments to press higher rather than retreating and absorbing pressure.
That is a structural challenge as much as a mentality one. A team that habitually drops into a low block cedes territory and invites transitions it then has to defend repeatedly, which is close to what happened in the closing stages against Rennes before Lucumí's goal was disallowed. Spalletti's comment about Juventus needing to prove they are better than opponents, or risk going "round in circles," reads as a warning that comfort without control will keep producing nights like this one.