Juventus 0-2 Fiorentina: Spalletti's team crash down to sixth
Juventus must win their final game of the season, while hoping for favours elsewhere, if they are to qualify for the Champions League.
Juventus' Champions League qualification hopes were dealt a blow as they suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Fiorentina at the Allianz Stadium.
The Bianconeri headed into their final home game of the Serie A campaign knowing a win may well be enough to secure their place in the top four, or all but ensure it.
However, Juve were unable to get the job done against a Fiorentina team with little but pride to play for.
Luciano Spalletti's team must now beat rivals Torino next week, and hope for results elsewhere to go their way, if they are to qualify for the Champions League, as this defeat, combined with wins for Napoli, AC Milan, Roma and Como, sent the Bianconeri down to sixth place.
Against the run of play, Cher Ndour put Fiorentina ahead in the 34th minute with a cute finish from a tight angle, after excellent play from Manor Solomon.
Weston McKennie saw a goal disallowed for a foul on Luca Ranieri, before former Fiorentina star Dusan Vlahovic thought he had restored parity midway through the second half.
However, a VAR review spotted that Vlahovic had strayed offside. While the referee consulted the pitchside monitor, he also brandished a straight red card to Fiorentina defender Ranieri, who by that point had been subbed off, for foul and abusive language.
Fiorentina duly made their reprieve count, with Rolando Mandragora curling a sublime strike into the top-left corner to leave Juve's top-four hopes hanging by a thread.
Data Debrief: The pressure tells on Juve
Ndour's opener came from Fiorentina's first shot on target.
Juve have now conceded a goal from 46% of their opponents' first shot on target in a match in the league this season (16 goals from 35 such attempts), which is the highest percentage among all teams in the competition.
While Juve had 26 shots and created chances worth 1.96 expected goals, Fiorentina were clinical, with their strikes coming despite an xG of just 0.47, while they only had 19 touches in the opposition box, despite the Bianconeri having 55.
This defeat snapped a 10-game unbeaten run in Serie A for Juve, who are now on the brink of what, by their standards, would be a hugely disappointing campaign.
Fiorentina, meanwhile, have gone four consecutive games without defeat against Juventus in Serie A for the first time since between April 2006 and August 2008.












