Bologna were on the verge of wrapping up third spot in Serie A, only to collapse late in the second half as 3-0 became 3-3. A double from young centre-back Ricardo Calafiori either side of a Santiago Castro strike had the hosts in cruise control, but a defensive lapse in the 76th minute sparked the unlikeliest of turnarounds as Paolo Montero began his stint as Juve interim boss with a point.
Juventus remain in the hunt for a third-placed finish in Serie A after sensationally hitting back from 3-0 down to rescue a 3-3 draw against rivals Bologna at the Renato Dall’Ara Stadium.
Thiago Motta’s Rossoblu flew out of the traps and were two up inside 11 minutes courtesy of goals from Riccardo Calafiori and full debutant Santiago Castro.
Juventus looked a yard off the pace leaving Paolo Montero perhaps wondering what he had let himself in for after agreeing to oversee the club’s final matches of the campaign following the sacking of Massimiliano Allegri.
Juventus sack manager Allegri days after Coppa Italia winJuventus sack manager Allegri days after Coppa Italia win.
The visitors briefly showed more fight following the interval but were undone again on 53 minutes when Calafiori capped a bold foray forward with a delicious, dinked finish to snare his second of the evening.
Juventus seemed set to be humbled but a remarkable three-goal burst in eight minutes late on saw Federico Chiesa and substitutes Arkadiusz Milik and Kenan Yildiz somehow secure a share of the spoils.
The result sees Bologna remain in third, ahead of fourth-place Juventus on goal difference with one game to play.
Bologna will now end a thrilling campaign in which they qualified for the UEFA Champions League for only the second time in their history at Genoa on Sunday. Juventus will host Monza.
TALKING POINT – DID MOTTA PASS A POTENTIAL AUDITION?
For 70 minutes Bologna showed just why they have been one of the surprise packages in Serie A this season, completely outplaying a lacklustre Juventus and demonstrating why Thiago Motta has made such waves across the coaching world.
Indeed, he has been linked with the vacant Juventus job and some saw this as a possible audition. In many ways he passed with flying colours, but his late substitutions of key players came back to bite him and was perhaps a lesson to both him and his squad of what can happen if you give the elite a sniff of a chance (particularly with UEFA Champions League football on the horizon next term).
It robbed The Rossoblu of a first win over The Bianconeri since 2011 and means Juve swerved more difficult headlines, but have also now won just once in their last 16 Serie A outings.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH – RICCARDO CALAFIORI (BOLOGNA)
The 22-year-old treated himself to a belated birthday present from the weekend by netting a superb brace. It was further proof of his emergence as one of the league’s best centre-backs with the Italian a superb example of the Motta effect, combining staunch defence with some slick contributions further forward. He had no part in the late collapse as he was withdrawn on 70 minutes and it may not have happened had he still been on the pitch.
PLAYER RATINGS
BOLOGNA: Skorupski 6, Kristiansen 6, Posch 7, Lucumi 6, Calafiori 8, Ndoye 7, Aebischer 6, Freuler 6, Urbanski 7, Odgaard 6, Castro 7. Subs: Saelemaekers 6, Fabbian 6, Orsolini 6, Beukema 5, El Azzouzi 5.
JUVENTUS: Szczesny 6, Gatti 5, Bremer 5, Danilo 5, Cambiaso 5, Miretti 5, Locatelli 6, Rabiot 6, Iling-Junior 5, Vlahovic 5, Chiesa 7. Subs: Alcaraz 5, Weah 5, Yildiz 7, Milik 7, Fagioli 5.
Matchcast: Full match stats and commentary
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
02’ – GOAL! – Bologna 1-0 Juventus: (Calafiori) The hosts are off to a flyer! Juve fail to clear a right-wing corner on two occasions and they are made to pay when the loose ball is rifled high into the net by Calafiori.
11’ – GOAL! – Bologna 2-0 Juventus: (Castro) Santiago Castro beats his team-mate to Ndoye’s devilish left-wing cross and thumps a header beyond Szczesny.
53’ – GOAL! – Bologna 3-0 Juventus: (Calafiori) The centre back is at the double! He comes flying up the pitch from out of nowhere to seize upon a loose ball and dink a sumptuous finish over the keeper.
76’ – GOAL! – Bologna 3-1 Juventus: (Chiesa) Over-confidence from Lucumí allows Chiesa to intercept a pass inside the Bologna area and fire past Skorupski.
83’ – GOAL! – Bologna 3-2 Juventus: (Milik) Game on? Milik a 25-yard free kick into the top corner via a slight deflection off the wall.
84’ – GOAL! – Bologna 3-3 Juventus: (Yildiz) What a comeback! Juventus looked dead and buried but are somehow level as Yildiz rifles a sizzling strike beyond the keeper.