Juventus’ Serie A title ambitions are all but over after suffering a 1-0 defeat at Cagliari on Saturday, in a match in which the visiting side failed to assert possession.
Juventus are fifth in the standings with 39 points, 10 behind leaders Inter Milan, who defeated Udinese 1-0 on Saturday.
Cagliari is 15th with 22 points and is eight points away from the relegation zone with the victory. Cagliari failed to register a shot attempt in the first half but scored a shock winner when Luca Mazzitelli scored with 25 minutes remaining to end Juve’s six-match unbeaten league run.
«You tip your hat to your opponents, who brought home a win that perhaps they didn’t deserve, but sniffed out the opportunity and took it,» Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti said. Sky sports.
“Maybe we can learn from that next time and take advantage of our opportunity.”
The visiting side dominated possession early on without creating any real danger until Cagliari keeper Elia Caprile saved Fabio Miretti’s strike from just inside the penalty area to leave the match goalless after a dour first half.
Juventus winger Kenan Yildiz did the hard work on the right, racing down the left wing and dancing past three challenges to get himself into the penalty area, but his finish was well off target and minutes later Cagliari took a shock lead.
Gianluca Gaetano floated a free-kick into the area and Mazzitelli met the ball for the first time, sending a side-foot volley into the bend past Perin.
“A beautiful night that we will carry with us,” said Mazzitelli Air.
«We faced one of the strongest teams, but we gave more than we had. It was a victory that came with a lot of suffering.»
Caprile waved away a scorching effort from Yildiz as Juventus were desperate for an equalizer and Yildiz let a deflected shot hit the post.
Juventus, who suffered their second defeat in 12 league games since Spalletti took charge at the end of October, must pull themselves together before hosting Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday and Serie A champions Napoli next weekend.
Published on January 18, 2026
