06 April 2025
An entertaining encounter took place between Roma and Juve at the Stadio Olimpico, as the Bianconeri brought Roma's winning streak to an end and gave a good account of themselves for long periods. The result was a hard-fought draw, in a match in which Juve were solid, aggressive and intense, finding their goal with a gem from Manuel Locatelli, who returned to scoring in the stadium where he had already made his mark in January 2022.
A STRONG START
The Bianconeri started strongly: after just two minutes it was Timothy Weah who stung Mile Svilar's gloves with a shot from distance. The pressure was constant and high, with Pierre Kalulu and Lloyd Kelly driving the team into the Giallorossi's half. Juve were settling into the game well and pressing high: in the 11th minute, after a good move, it was Khephren Thuram who had a shot on goal, but Svilar saved easily. In the 14th minute it was Kenan Yildiz’s turn when he got on the end of a ball from Thuram, again finding the Giallorossi goalkeeper in his way. It was a truly high-level start from the Bianconeri, who played with intensity and retained possession well in Roma's half of the pitch (in the first twenty minutes they even exceeded 80% possession).
ROMA COME TO LIFE, BUT JUVE FIND THE OPENER
Roma began to show the credentials that had seen them put together an unbelievable run of form in 2025, and gradually started to grow into the game: in the 24th minute Kalulu pulled off a real defensive miracle, throwing himself in the way of Bryan Cristante’s strike. Juve pushed on again, and in the 27th minute the biggest chance of the game fell to Nico Gonzalez, who got on the end of Weah’s cross to head the ball goalwards, but saw his effort hit the crossbar via a decisive save from Svilar.
A few minutes later, in the 36th minute, Roma replied through Stephan El Shaarawy, who caught Kalulu off guard to connect with a header, but his effort struck the outside of the post. From danger at one end, to joy at the other: in the 39th minute came the Bianconeri's goal.
Locatelli ventured to the edge of the box, before latching onto a clearance by the Roma defence, quickly sorting his feet out and volleying goalwards, finding the right corner. A beautiful goal to make it 0-1. In the closing stages of the half, Juve went close to doubling their lead through Dusan Vlahovic who latched onto Nico Gonzalez’s pass: but his shot on the turn was met by a great response from Svilar.
ROMA EQUALISE
Roma equalised in the second half in the 48th minute: Michele Di Gregorio made a miraculous save to deny Evan Ndicka who had connected with a corner kick, but could do nothing to prevent Eldor Shomurodov from tapping in the rebound from close range to make it 1-1. It was a hammer blow for the Bianconeri, who struggled to regain the pace and fluidity of their play in the first half.
Roma grew in confidence and tried to make the most of the shift in momentum. Juve did well to remain organised, but the tempo of the match gradually dropped. The best chance fell to Weston McKennie in the 61st minute: the American timed his run perfectly to get on the end of Nico Gonzalez's delivery, but Svilar once again came to Roma’s rescue and saved behind for a corner. Around ten minutes later it was Yildiz who tried to break the deadlock with a shot that also deflected behind for a corner. In the final minutes McKennie tried again with a powerful shot from the edge of the box that Angelino bravely blocked (88th minute), while the final Juve chance came from a threatening cross from Kelly in the 92nd minute which was cleared by the Giallorossi defence.
The scoreboard remained the same, and all in all it was a 1-1 draw that Juve will not be too unhappy with, especially given the positive performance put in by the team.
ROMA 1-1 JUVENTUS
Stadio Olimpico, Sunday 6 April, 2025 at 20:45 (CEST)
Serie A – Matchday 31
Goals: 40’ Locatelli (J), 49’ Shomurodov (R)
Roma: Svilar, Mancini, Hummels (46’ Shomurodov), Ndicka, Celik (72’ Nelsson), Kone, Cristante (61’ Paredes), Tasende, Soule, El Shaarawy (61’ Gourna-Douath), Dovbyk (85’ Baldanzi).
Unused Substitutes: Rensch, Pellegrini, Salah-Eddine, Pisilli, Sangare, De Marzi, Gollini.
Coach: Claudio Ranieri.
Juventus: Di Gregorio, Kalulu, Veiga, Kelly, McKennie, Locatelli (76’ Savona), Thuram, Weah (68’ Cambiaso), Yildiz, Nico Gonzalez (69’ Koopmeiners), Vlahovic (68’ Kolo Muani).
Unused Substitutes: Costa, Conceicao, Pinsoglio, Douglas Luiz, Daffara, Rouhi, Mbangula.
Coach: Igor Tudor.
Referee: Andrea Colombo
Assistants: Davide Imperiale, Alessio Berti
Fourth Official: Luca Zufferli
Bookings: 26’ Cristante (R), 65’ Veiga (J)
Next Match:
Juventus-Lecce
Serie A – Matchday 32
Saturday, 12 April, 2025 at 20:45 (CEST)
Allianz Stadium
