Soccer-Juventus fight back to draw with Rennes as Leverkusen go top


Soccer Football - UEFA Europa League - Juventus v Stade Rennes - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - October 22, 2026 Juventus's Nick Woltemade scores their second goal from the penalty spot REUTERS/Matteo Ciambelli

TURIN, Italy, Oct 22 (Reuters) - ⁠Juventus dropped their first points of the Europa League campaign after ⁠coming from behind to draw 2-2 with visitors Rennes on ‌Thursday.

Zeki Celik gave Juventus a fifth-minute lead, but the French side kept their composure and were level 10 minutes later when Jordan international Musa Al-Taamari finished from close range for ​his first goal in the competition.

Rennes then stunned ⁠the hosts with a Boulaye ⁠Dia penalty two minutes before the break as the Italians struggled to ⁠create ‌chances until Nick Woltemade equalised from the spot in the 67th minute.

The German forward twice went close to scoringagain as Luciano ⁠Spalletti's team upped the pressure, and Juve thought they ​had won it ‌in the 88th minute when Jhon Lucumi found the net from ⁠close range, but ​his effort was ruled out for offside.

The draw at least spared Juventus a second successive defeat following Sunday's 3-0 home loss to Lazio in Serie A.

JonasHofmann ⁠made the most of his surprise start ​for Bayer Leverkusen, scoring twice in three minutes to give the Bundesliga side a 2-0 victory at OFI Crete to go top of the table with ⁠their third straight win.

OFI, who stunned Hoffenheim 2-0 in their opening league-phase match, were twice caught napping by Hofmann, who was added to the side following an injury to Martin Terrier.

Leverkusen have nine points and lead ​Ferencvaros on goal difference after the Hungarian side ⁠beat Torreense 4-1.

Sunderland, who were also chasing a third win, took a second-minute ​lead against Lech Poznan through Timur Tutierov ‌but Leo Bengtsson grabbed a 70th-minuteequaliser to ​earn the Polish side a 1-1 draw. Sunderland have seven points, level with fourth-placed Juventus.

(Reporting by Karolos GrohmannEditing by Toby Davis)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Air Pollutant Index

Note: API is calculated based on 24hr running average of the most dominant parameter.

Highest API Readings

    Select State and Location to view the latest API reading

    Others Also Read