NEC see Juventus suffer a painful defeat in Serie A shortly before their meeting

Juventus lost 3-2 to Sassuolo in the build-up to the clash with NEC. The club from Turin therefore endured a false dress rehearsal for next Thursday's Europa League meeting with the Nijmegen side at the Allianz Stadium.

Teun Koopmeiners started for the visitors, while former Ajax player Francisco Conceição was also in the XI. Both sides opened cautiously. They saw plenty of the ball but created little. Juventus controlled most of the early play, before Sassuolo began to grow into the game around the half-hour mark.

Neither side turned that into a goal before the break, with Sassuolo and Juventus limited to half-chances. Koopmeiners tried his luck from outside the box, but goalkeeper Arijanet Muric gathered his effort comfortably. Luciano Spalletti's side looked sluggish and offered little going forward against Sassuolo's compact organisation.

Sassuolo made the breakthrough in the 65th minute. Nemanja Matic slipped Sebastiano Esposito through the last line, and the attacker suddenly found himself with far too much space from the Juventus defence. Esposito kept his cool and slid the ball low into the far corner, leaving Vicario with no chance: 1-0.

Then Koopmeiners went off after 71 minutes. Our compatriot made way for Pape Matar Sarr. Juventus still could not make their mark without him. I Neroverdi played their way calmly out of the pressure and comfortably dealt with the visitors' attacking efforts.

Shortly before time, Juventus drew level. Kerim Alajbegovic's cross ran through to Edon Zhegrova, who cut inside once and then fired home for 1-1. Juventus sensed blood. Alajbegovic then went close to hitting the winner. It was a late onslaught the Old Lady had not shown at any point earlier in the match.

That comeback looked set to count for nothing because Sassuolo made it 2-1 in the 89th minute. Darryl Bakola started the move with a fine dribble, and the ball eventually dropped for Kieron Bowie. The attacker was completely unmarked and swept the ball home past the goalkeeper. Only two minutes later, it was 2-2. Zhegrova combined briefly with Kolo Muani and then drilled the ball low into the near corner for the equaliser.

Yet there was still time for a winner. Juventus loanee Vasilije Adzic was picked out in transition by Armand Laurienté. The 20-year-old attacker kept his cool and fired the ball into the far corner: 3-2. The youngster refused to celebrate, but he did secure the three points for his side.