Juventus were held to a surprising 1-1 draw at home against Cagliari on Sunday, a result that cost them second place in Serie A to rivals Inter Milan.
The Turin side, who had been in solid form defensively, conceded their first league goal of the season in dramatic fashion, with Razvan Marin’s late penalty delivering a shocking blow at the Allianz Stadium.
Cagliari’s equalizer came in the 88th minute when Marin confidently struck home from the spot, capitalizing on Roberto Piccoli being clumsily fouled by Douglas Luiz inside the box.
Luiz, who had also conceded a penalty in Juve’s midweek Champions League victory over RB Leipzig, once again found himself at the center of controversy.
Romania international Marin, facing the jeers of the home crowd, kept his composure to deliver an arrowed finish, rescuing a vital point for the visitors and moving them up to 15th in the table—just a point clear of the relegation zone.
Earlier in the match, Dusan Vlahovic had given Juventus the lead with a 15th-minute penalty, his sixth goal of the Serie A campaign.
The decision to award the spot-kick was contentious, with Cagliari defender Sebastiano Luperto judged to have grazed the ball with his fingers during an aerial challenge involving multiple players.
VAR intervened, ruling that Luperto’s arm was unnaturally high, but Cagliari protested that the defender had been unbalanced by pressure from Federico Gatti.
Juventus appeared to be in control but never fully exerted their dominance, a frustration that was echoed by coach Thiago Motta. “We got complacent after the goal,” Motta said. “You can’t afford to ease off in matches like this. We had chances to put the game away, but we always felt vulnerable to a comeback. This draw is our fault.”
The hosts could have extended their lead in the 78th minute when Vlahovic squandered a golden opportunity, failing to score on a rebound after Douglas Luiz’s powerful shot was parried by Cagliari goalkeeper Simone Scuffet.
With the goal at his mercy, the Serbian striker somehow shot wide, a moment that would haunt Juve later.
Cagliari’s near-comeback was almost fully realized deep into stoppage time when Adam Obert rattled the post in the 95th minute, narrowly missing what would have been a sensational winner.
Juventus, reduced to 10 men after Francisco Conceicao was sent off for a second booking—immediately following Marin’s equalizer—were left hanging on by the slimmest of margins.
Conceicao had been shown a yellow card for simulation after attempting to win a second penalty in a frantic end to the match.
Juventus were missing key players such as Nico Gonzalez, Arkadiusz Milik, Timothy Weah, and Gleison Bremer—who sustained a serious knee injury in the Leipzig clash—yet they will rue their missed opportunities.
Vlahovic’s early spot-kick could have been decisive had Juve not allowed Cagliari to grow back into the contest.
For Cagliari, the result was a morale boost in their fight for survival, with Marin, the hero of the evening, expressing his satisfaction. “I’m proud of the point,” Marin said. “The crowd was against me, but I stayed focused, and it paid off. It wasn’t easy, but it feels good to get something from a place like this.”
With this draw, Juventus slipped three points behind Napoli, the league leaders, after seven matches.
Meanwhile, AC Milan were set to play Fiorentina later in the day with a chance to leapfrog both Inter and Juventus in the Serie A standings, adding even more tension to an already thrilling title race.
