JUVENTUS SEASON 2025-2026

[Socrates 9513]

Serie A | Bologna 0-1 Juventus: Cabal conquers the Dall’Ara for climb to fifth

 

 

Juan Cabal came off the bench to snatch all three points for Juventus against 10 men, continuing the dire Bologna record in this fixture, and leapfrogging them into fifth place.

 

This was a direct battle for position, as the Rossoblu were two points ahead in the table. Juve lost last week to Napoli, but boosted their Champions League chances in a midweek win over Pafos. ............

 

Juve were unbeaten at the Dall’Ara since November 1998 and hadn’t lost to Bologna at all since a 2-0 result in February 2011. ............

 

There was an early double Michele Di Gregorio save, first on Tommaso Pobega’s acrobatic flick from a free kick, then the Riccardo Orsolini follow-up at the back post.

 

Orsolini’s trademark curler was smothered and Teun Koopmeiners was booked so will be suspended next week against Roma. ............

 

Juventus had the ball in the net on 36 minutes when David flicked on a long ball for McKennie, who won the ricochet off on-rushing Ravaglia and generously rolled across for the Canadian to deposit into an empty net. However, McKennie was offside on the initial flick. ............

 

Yet Bologna had a huge chance on the stroke of half-time, as Orsolini’s inspired disguised pass released Nadir Zortea to thump his finish against the underside of the bar from a tight angle with Di Gregorio just getting his fingertips to it. ............

 

Juventus finally found a breakthrough when Kenan Yildiz saw his control and strike deflected inches over by Heggem. The resulting corner was taken short for a Kenan Yildiz cross that found substitute Juan Cabal for a totally free header from six yards. ............

 

The situation went from bad to worse for the hosts, as soon after Heggem got caught out by a long Di Gregorio ball and bundled Lois Openda over outside the area for a straight red card.

 

There was more good news for Juventus, as Gleison Bremer made his comeback for the final 15 minutes, the first appearance since the meniscus injury on September 27.

 

Conceicao had penalty appeals rejected after running into Lucumi’s arm, infuriating the defender, while Federico Bernardeschi’s effort failed to trouble Di Gregorio.

 

Ravaglia kept the scoreline down with a great one-handed save on Openda’s daisy-cutter from 12 yards on the Cabal lay-off, then Openda fired another promising opportunity over in stoppages. ............

 

 

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Read more -> https://football-italia.net/serie-a-bologna-0-1-juventus-cabal-conquers/

 

Modificato 4 ore fa da Socrates

[Socrates 9513]

Bologna 0-1 Juventus: Spalletti’s substitutions worked a charm

 

 

Juventus bounced back from last week’s defeat in Naples by edging past Bologna thanks to a solitary second-half strike from Juan Cabal.

 

Luciano Spalletti kept his 3-4-2-1 system, with Jonathan David spearheading the lineup, supported by Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceicao. In midfield, Khephren Thuram connected with Manuel Locatelli, while Weston McKennie and Andrea Cambiaso started on the wings. ............

 

Bologna were the better side in the opening minutes, but Michele Di Gregorio produced a double save to prevent an early goal. ............

 

Juventus thought they had broken the deadlock in the 35th minute, when Federico Ravaglia’s attempted clearance was blocked by McKennie, who unselfishly laid it into David’s path. The Canadian scored with a simple tap-in, but the goal was disallowed for an offside on McKennie in the buildup. ............

 

Juventus eventually found the breakthrough in the second half from an unexpected source. Yildiz’s promising shot was blocked by Torbjørn Heggem, but he made amends from the ensuing corner kick. The Turk played a give-and-go with Conceicao before sending a sublime cross to the box that was met by Juan Cabal, whose low header left Ravaglia stranded.

 

The Colombian wasn’t the only second-half introduction who made a swift impact, as fellow substitute Lois Openda was equally effective.

 

The Belgian striker won an aerial ball against Hegem and charged towards Ravaglia’s goal, forcing the Norwegian defender to bring him down from the back. The referee had no other choice but to show the latter a straight red that left Bologna with a man down.

 

Afterwards, it was all Juventus, but Yildiz and Openda wasted a few glorious opportunities to double the visitors’ lead. ............

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Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/bologna-0-1-juventus-spallettis-substitutions-worked-a-charm/

 

Modificato 4 ore fa da Socrates

[Socrates 9513]

Player ratings: Bologna 0-1 Juventus – Cabal seals crucial six-pointer

 

 

Juventus have Juan Cabal to thank after picking up a vital three points in a 1-0 victory away against Bologna in Serie A on Sunday evening.  ............

Bologna 0-1 Juventus: Player ratings! 

Bologna: Ravaglia 6; Zortea 6 (De Silvestri 5.5), Heggem 4, Lucumi 6 (Bernardeschi n/a), Miranda 6; Moro 6 (Holm 6), Pobega 6; Orsolini 6.5, Ferguson 6 (Sulemana 5.5), Cambiaghi 5.5; Dallinga 5.5 (Castro 5.5).

 

Best Bologna player: Orsolini 6.5 –  ............

 

Coach: Vincenzo Italiano 6 –  ............

 

Juventus: Di Gregorio 6.5; Kalulu 6, Kelly 6.5, Koopmeiners 6 (Bremer 6); McKennie 6, Thuram 6, Locatelli 6, Cambiaso 5.5 (Cabal 7); Conceicao 6.5 (Miretti n/a), Yildiz 7, David 6 (Openda 6.5).

 

Best Juventus player: Cabal 7 – Two goals in six Serie A appearances for the Colombian now. Immediate impact off the bench on Sunday evening, evading his marker to claim a free header in the middle of the Bologna penalty area. That was a big confidence boost to begin his evening.

 

Coach: Luciano Spalletti 6.5 – That was a big six-pointer in the race for Champions League football, and the perfect way to bounce back after a disappointing 2-1 defeat against Napoli last time out in Serie A. Had Juventus been a touch more clinical, that would have been a slightly more flattering scoreline. Still, managed the game well after going ahead, even if their life was made easier with Heggem’s sending off.

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Read more -> https://football-italia.net/player-ratings-bologna-0-1-juventus-cabal-seal/

[Socrates 9513]

Spalletti: ‘Most important Juventus win, but I have to be hard on them’

 

 

Luciano Spalletti insists the victory over Bologna was ‘the most important’ of his Juventus career so far, but notes where Juan Cabal, Lois Openda and Jonathan David can improve.

 

The Bianconeri knew the importance of this fixture, as they were two points behind Bologna in the Serie A table, so it was a head-to-head for European places. ............

 

“We were facing a team that has an identity, quality and enthusiasm, they were built well and even down to 10 men made it difficult for us,” Spalletti said.

 

“Having won here means even more for my players, and they must be congratulated this evening. They did really well.” ............

 

“I had seen things done well in training, and told the directors that I saw the players energetic and reacting well in training. We needed a performance that could give them confidence, and I hope after this we can continue to improve,” continued Spalletti.

 

“Aside from the goal, the overall performance needs to be evaluated in football. Juventus were in the heart of the game for 90 minutes tonight, battled for every ball, went beyond these individual duels that Bologna force you into, and this bodes well for the future.

 

“Cabal must learn to keep some of his emotions in check. He is like a pedigree horse with his strength and ability to sprint repeatedly, he has talent with back-heel flicks, but talent is also repeating the 100 metre runs 20 times. He doesn’t mind being in one-on-one situations, is good in the air, but in the games he played so far he wasn’t precise enough for his talent, so I had to be hard on him.” ............

 

“I liked his performance. Openda is a different player to Jonathan David, who frankly seems more like a second striker to me than a centre-forward, as he combines with teammates. Openda has more power, and probably against teams like Bologna feels more at ease, because he can run at them with sheer pace when those spaces open up,” concluded Spalletti. ............

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Read more -> https://football-italia.net/spalletti-most-important-juventus-win-hard/

[Socrates 9513]

Juventus 1 - Bologna 0: Initial reaction and random observations

 

 

A week ago, Luciano Spalletti and Juventus went to southern Italy and got things wrong from the very beginning. Spalletti’s approach was the wrong one, and the way in which he wanted to play was very much not well-executed by the players on the field. It was a mess, and something that Juve could really recover from against the reigning Serie A champions.

 

Seven days later, Spalletti got things right when it came to the approach. And while the on-field execution wasn’t always the best that it could be — which feels like an understatement considering the current state of Juventus these days — Spalletti’s squad was able to come away with three vital points against a direct competitor for a spot in the top four this season.

 

Juan Cabal’s goal all of three minutes after coming on as a substitute proved to be the difference in Juventus’ 1-0 win over the always-difficult Bolgona at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on Sunday night. Spalletti got things much more on the money compared to how things went against Napoli seven days earlier, and now he can stake claim to having a team that is within striking distance of the top four. Of course, some of that depends on how Roma does against Como on Monday night, but with that same Roma squad on the schedule and making their to Turin next weekend, getting back on track domestically and jumping over at least one rival for a spot in the top four was crucial on this chilly night in Emilia-Romagna. ............

 

But for a team that has struggled to consistent win under their last couple of managers, Spalletti now has a team that has won five out of their last six in all competitions. Again, I know it hasn’t always been pretty or how a lot of us would like to see it, but one of the biggest things Spalletti needed to do in the short term was to just get this team from stop dropping points so damn often.

 

Loss to Napoli aside, they’re starting to do that.

 

Fact is, both Spalletti and the Juventus players needed this win badly. They have gotten a little wind back i ntheir sails in Europe with a couple of wins, but it was in these kinds of tests against teams in or around the top four where they were going to find out a lot about themselves this month. They didn’t pass the Napoli test at all — and Spalletti admitted as such when it came to himself and the team as a whole. Against Bologna, though, it was different. He got the approach spot on. He got his subs right. He managed the game incredibly well after Juventus got the lead.

 

The last thing Juve needed to do was to put forward a solid performance, fight hard to get the lead, actually get the lead only to cough it up in the final minutes and drop points as a result. You know, the kind of thing we’ve seen on plenty of occasions the last couple of years. But rather than actually do that, they hung on — and three points are coming back to Turin with them.

 

You could say “Well, it’s easy to do that against a team playing down a man!” and that’s potentially true in theory. But Bologna are one of the few sides who play the kind of way where they could have easily overcome that kind of setback in the second half and still gotten points against Juventus. They just defy logic sometimes, and Vincenzo Italiano is the kind of manager who has a kind of approach that lends itself to chaos. ............

RANDOM THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

• If only every sub Spalletti brought on could score a goal three minutes after coming on like Cabal did, right? ............
• Good for Cabal, though. He’s had some tough games the last couple of weeks. But the dude was absolutely FLYING to get on the end of that cross.
• And wait … Juve scored off a corner??? I don’t know what to do with myself now.
• Let’s just get it out of the way now: Lloyd Kelly, Man of the Match? Yeah, you ain’t gonna be wrong if you feel that way. This might have been his best game in a Juventus shirt. ............
• Those couple of Michele Di Gregorio saves in the first half look so incredibly important in hindsight. They were big in the moment, but they’re even the more important now that we can look back and pinpoint them as to why Bologna were held off the scoreboard.
• This was one of Di Gregorio’s best game of the season after some tough outings over the last month or two. Maybe, just maybe, he’s starting to lock in like he did as the 2024-25 season went on.
• Speaking of defense: BREMER BREMER BREMER BREMER BREMER BREMER.
• Yes, I am not the only one to be overjoyed by seeing Gleison Bremer and his incredibly sharp-looking haircut back on the field after he had knee surgery 2 1/2 months ago. Welcome back, big fella, you have been so incredibly missed in this team.
• Memo to Spalletti: YOU SAID YOU WILL NOT RUSH BREMER AND YOU STAY TRUE TO THAT, OK? I know it will be tempting to throw Bremer in there with a week in between games the next couple of weeks, but this is no time to just suddenly go against your line of thinking with a big fixture coming up next week.
• That being said, it would be pretty great to see Bremer back in the starting lineup against Roma. But only if he’s ready for it. Juve need to get this one right. ............
• Another Kenan Yildiz goal contribution? WELL CONSIDER ME STUNNED, FOLKS.
• Weston McKennie covering more distance than anybody on the field is becoming such a common occurrence that it’s not even surprising anymore. You know, like as surprising as Yildiz doing something that contributes to a goal. ............
• Can Cambiaso stop taking corners and free kicks? I’ve seen enough of him not even clearing the first defender on his cross.
• I think Giorgio Chiellini’s reaction on the quick shot to the crowd on what proved Cambiaso’s final “contribution” before being subbed off pretty much summed up the latter’s form at the moment. Just not good enough.
• Unfortunately, Francisco Conceição didn’t get a goal on his birthday. He did, however, get smacked in the face and pick up off the turf like he was some sort of little kid not wanting to go back inside after playing with his friends in the backyard. Not exactly the greatest thing to take place, but it was a funny visual. ............
• Another full 90 for Pierre Kalulu. There might not be anybody happier that Juve don’t have a midweek fixture. Enjoy the rest, my friend.
• Also pretty obvious, but it’s important to note that Yildiz will get a full week of rest ahead of facing one of Serie A’s best defenses. I like the sound of that. At least the first part.
• Juventus’ next five opponents after facing Roma: Pisa, Lecce, Sassuolo, Cremonese and Cagliari. That’s incredibly favorable even if there are a couple of tricky ones in there. You get a win against Roma and you jump back in the Champions League in mid-January.

Read more -> https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/previews-reviews/34657/bologna-juventus-2025-serie-a-matchday-14-final-score-result-initial-reaction-random-observations