Juventus found the result they needed in Lecce, winning 2-0 at the Via del Mare to end a 35-day wait for a Serie A victory. Douglas Luiz, signed in 2024 for €50 million, delivered the first-half performance supporters had been waiting to see: he created Weston McKennie’s opener from a free-kick and then scored his first Juventus goal himself. Luciano Spalletti’s side moved on to 14 points, into sixth place alongside Frosinone and back within sight of the European positions.
Douglas Luiz gives Juventus a first-half answer
The attention before kick-off had fallen on Juventus’ two starting forwards, Nick Woltemade and Randal Kolo Muani, deployed together from the outset in Serie A for the first time. Both worked hard, with Woltemade offering more in possession and Kolo Muani struggling at times in Lecce’s crowded defensive areas, but the decisive figure was in midfield.
Douglas Luiz gave Juventus greater ambition in the middle of the pitch, attempting forward passes that were not always converted by those ahead of him. Teun Koopmeiners continued a more encouraging spell, while McKennie again showed his usefulness across several roles, whether wide, central or behind the forwards.
- In the 29th minute, Juventus used a rehearsed free-kick routine. Koopmeiners shaped to take it before Douglas Luiz lifted the ball into the area, where McKennie applied a slight touch to beat Wladimiro Falcone. It was McKennie’s first league goal of the season.
- Douglas Luiz doubled the lead in the 41st minute. His low diagonal effort from outside the penalty area took a touch from Falcone but still slipped inside the goalkeeper’s right-hand post.
- The Brazilian’s strike was his first goal for Juventus and gave the visitors a rare sense of control before half-time.
There had been an early scare when Guglielmo Vicario delayed a clearance and struck Konan N’Dri, only for the ball to go behind. Lecce’s high pressure initially disrupted Juventus’ build-up, but once Spalletti’s team took the lead, their possession became steadier. Douglas Luiz also sent Kolo Muani through on the right before the Frenchman pulled his finish wide.
Spalletti’s selection and a necessary response
Spalletti had been forced to work around a depleted forward department, with several number nines unavailable in Turin. His starting side broadly followed the team used in the 2-2 draw with Rennes, with Pierre Kalulu operating on the right and Jhon Lucumi replacing Lloyd Kelly on the left of a three-man defence.
The coach had made clear before the match that injuries could not become an excuse. He said that discussing absences would not improve Juventus’ league position, while explaining that the partnership between Woltemade and Kolo Muani was driven by necessity rather than a settled preference.
Spalletti also challenged Koopmeiners to build on a recent display closer to his international standard. He praised the midfielder’s running and physical consistency, while suggesting that poor decisions and mental vulnerability had sometimes held him back. Against Lecce, Koopmeiners avoided the drop in confidence his coach had identified.
Andrea Cambiaso, making his first league start of the campaign, had said Juventus could not use the loss of more players as an alibi. He accepted that his own level had not always met expectations, but insisted that the squad had to collect points and reduce the gap to the places they believed they should occupy.
Lecce improve after the interval but cannot break through
Eusebio Di Francesco kept the same general formula that had brought Lecce a 3-0 win at Udinese, making one enforced alteration as Mohamed Kaba replaced the injured Lassana Coulibaly. His team began with three forwards pressing Juventus’ back three, and N’Dri occasionally caused problems in the space between Cambiaso and Lucumi.
Di Francesco had asked his players to build on their Udine performance with courage rather than retreat into a defensive approach. He noted that Juventus were more solid and had more specialist defenders, but also carried a greater threat in behind through Kolo Muani.
After falling behind, however, Lecce found it difficult to establish possession without a natural organiser in midfield. Juventus’ central line, aided by McKennie’s defensive work, narrowed the spaces available. The home side made two interval changes, with Jamil Siebert and Joel Monteiro coming on for Kaba and Amar Fatah.
- Youssef Maleh produced Lecce’s clearest second-half threat when Federico Gatti made a vital sliding block to turn his shot away.
- From the following corner, Kialonda Gaspar headed towards goal at the far post, but Vicario collected comfortably.
- Tiago Gabriel later missed the target after N’Dri found him during a quick break from a Juventus corner.
- Monteiro set up a forward after Lecce won the ball high, but the finish flew over the bar.
- Paco Esteban attempted an inventive backheel from a right-wing cross, though Vicario saved without difficulty.
Lecce lost Tiago Gabriel to injury, with Corrie Ndaba introduced in his place. Di Francesco also brought on Stulic for N’Dri and Paco Esteban for Geubbels, who left the pitch to whistles. The hosts saw more of the ball after the restart, but their attempts were either off target or too straightforward for Vicario.
Juventus manage the closing stages
Juventus were less fluent in the second half and at times invited pressure, but their defensive line held. Spalletti refreshed the left side by replacing Cambiaso with Juan Cabal and introducing Jérémie Boga for Kolo Muani, hoping to exploit space on the counterattack.
Boga later released Cabal into the area, but the substitute’s finish was poor from a tight angle. Douglas Luiz was replaced by Sarr, McKennie made way for Alajbegovic, and Juventus closed the match without allowing Lecce a late route back into it.
The final incident came in the 95th minute, when Lecce centre-back Gaspar was sent off by referee Fabio Maresca for excessive protests. Earlier, he had also been booked after bringing down Woltemade as the German escaped him.
For Di Francesco, the defeat left Lecce on nine points, five clear of the third-from-bottom side. Juventus, meanwhile, left Apulia with a clean sheet, a much-needed three points and a reminder that Douglas Luiz can still shape their season if this first-half standard becomes more than an isolated appearance.
