Soccer-Sassuolo beat Juventus 3-2 after late drama, Napoli return to winning ways


Soccer Football - Serie A - U.S. Sassuolo v Juventus - Mapei Stadium - Citta del Tricolore, Reggio Emilia, Italy - September 13, 2026 U.S. Sassuolo's Vasilije Adzic scores their third goal past Juventus' Guglielmo Vicario REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

Sept 13 (Reuters) - Juventus suffered a 3-2 ⁠defeat following a frantic finish at Sassuolo on Sunday, while Napoli snapped a three-match losing run ⁠with a 1-0 home win over Bologna as both sides continued their inconsistent starts to ‌the Serie A season.

Juventushave started the season in disappointing fashion, picking up seven points from four matches to sit eighth in the table, while Napoli are 10th with six points.

After a largely uneventful first hour, Sassuolo broke the deadlock in the 65th minute ​when Nemanja Matic slipped a precise pass into the area for ⁠Sebastiano Esposito, who finished with a slick ⁠one-touch stroke.

Juventus levelled in the 82nd minute after Sassuolo goalkeeper Arijanet Muric misjudged a cross, allowing Edon Zhegrova ⁠to ‌tap into an empty net.

The hosts thought they had sealed victory in the 89th minute when Darryl Bakola teed up Kieron Bowie, who curled a first-time effort into the corner.

Zhegrova looked to have ⁠rescued a point for Juventus when he fired home from the ​edge of the area in ‌stoppage time to complete his brace, but Sassuolo had the final say.

Four minutes into stoppage time, ⁠Vasilije Adzic controlled ​a deep cross and curled in a superb finish into the far corner to seal victory for Sassuolo with virtually the last kick of the game.

NAPOLI BREAK LOSING STREAK

Napoli ended their recent slump as Stanislav Lobotka turned in a second-half ⁠winner to secure all three points at the Stadio Diego ​Armando Maradona.

Massimiliano Allegri's side entered the clash under pressure following consecutive league defeats to Como and Inter Milan, as well as a midweek Champions League loss to Arsenal.

Napoli dominated possession early on, but Bologna thought they had ⁠taken the lead in the seventh minute when Arthur Theate headed home. The effort was ruled out for offside following a VAR review.

Lobotka eventually broke the deadlock in the 66th minute, scoring the game's only goal to hand Napoli all three points.

Napoli secured the points despite an ongoing injury crisis, with key figures Scott ​McTominay, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, and goalkeeper Alex Meret among those sidelined.

Further concern ⁠arose late in the match when midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was forced off, though Allegri quickly played down fears ​of a serious setback.

"He expended a lot of energy, it was ‌cramp," Allegri told reporters.

"Today the game was wanted and ​won with anger, something that was missing in recent matches. There we were too superficial, even though we did some good things."

(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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