Juventus' Setback with Tudor

PARMA, THURSDAY — Juventus faced a setback in their ambition to secure a Champions League ticket after suffering their first defeat under Coach Igor Tudor. The 0-1 loss to Parma on Wednesday (23/4/2025) at the Ennio Tardini Stadium prevented "The Old Lady" from overtaking Bologna in fourth place, although their points tally could be matched by Lazio.

A header from Mateo Pellegrino, following a well-prepared assist from Emanuele Valeri during the additional time of the first half, proved to be the decisive factor at Ennio Tardini. Parma secured their first victory over Juventus in the last decade. The last advantage Parma had against Juventus was recorded in March 2015.

The negative result brought home from the Parma camp has temporarily pushed Juve out of the top four zone. Dusan Vlahovic and his teammates are stuck in fifth place with a total of 59 points. They are one point behind Bologna, which occupies the fourth position.

Although the Champions League zone is still within reach for La Vecchia Signora with five games remaining this season, Juventus must remain vigilant against the threats posed by four main competitors. Bologna, followed by Lazio (59 points), AS Roma (57), and Fiorentina (56) also have an equal chance to complete the lineup of the top four in Serie A 2024-2025.

Juve only holds a better head-to-head record against Lazio, thus entitled to a better position than "The Eagles," who defeated Genoa 2-0 at the Unipol Domus Stadium at the same time. Fiorentina also secured a valuable victory of 2-1 over Cagliari in a postponed match that was originally scheduled for Monday (21/4/2025).

Four matches of the Italian League in week 33 were postponed due to the passing of Pope Francis on Monday. One other game was won by Torino with a score of 2-0 against Udinese.

Fiorentina have a head-to-head advantage over Juve this season. So, they will be ranked higher than Juve if they have the same points.

Given the situation, Juve's ambition to meet the target of qualifying for the Champions League next season is greatly threatened. This is because two out of the remaining five matches are against their closest competitors.

Juve will play two consecutive away matches against Bologna and Lazio in the 35th and 36th weeks. The maximum points must be brought home by La Vecchia Signora if they wish to return to compete in the most elite European competition for the 2025-2026 edition.

Tudor acknowledged that his team's efforts were not enough to bring home points from Parma's home ground. Despite repeatedly attacking and creating 16 shots, Tudor stated that Juve did not have any threatening chances on the home team's goal.

"We were punished with a goal from a cross 40 metres from goal. We are disappointed but we have to look forward. There are five games left and we have to get as many points as possible," Tudor told DAZN.

Meanwhile, Parma continued their trend of six unbeaten matches. Parma finally secured their first victory since entering the month of March. In the previous five games, they recorded a series of draws against tough teams, including Inter Milan and Fiorentina.

The result of matchday 33 helped Parma move up one place to 15th. They are six points clear of the relegation zone.

Parma coach Cristian Chivu is proud of the efforts of his players. A smile radiated from Chivu's face as he embraced each of his players after the final whistle.

"We showed a good performance through high focus. This result is a beautiful gift for the supporters," said Chivu as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Juve appeared very dominant over Parma. A collection of 66 percent ball possession showed Juve's attention to bring home three points.

However, Juve's attack was very ineffective. They only produced 0.84 expected goals (xG) from 16 shots. Parma, on the other hand, had 0.6 xG which resulted in one goal from just six shots.

A total of 3 touches by Juve players in the Parma penalty area also failed to pose a significant threat to Zion Suzuki, the Japanese goalkeeper of Parma. On the other hand, the home team only touched the ball eight times in Juve's defense but managed to create three threats to Juve's goal, including one goal.

Pellegrino's goal marked the tenth header conceded by Juve in Serie A this season. The Juve defense has never been this poor in anticipating aerial balls, at least in the last ten seasons.

"We made 20 passes and they didn't mean anything. We lacked determination and desire," Tudor said.

He added, "We must evolve, becoming more ruthless and passionate about fighting for victory. Players must realize that victory is not merely achieved through tactics and game systems."

The match in Parma also demonstrated that Dusan Vlahovic and Randal Kolo Muani have yet to find harmony as partners in the front line. The injury suffered by midfielder Teun Koopmeiners has indeed impacted the creativity of La Vecchia Signora.

"We did not score and failed to create dangerous situations. Even after playing for eight hours, the result did not change," continued Tudor, who is from Croatia.

In addition to the defeat, Juve suffered further losses with an increasing list of injured players. Vlahovic sustained an injury that led to his substitution by Francisco Conceicao at the beginning of the second half.