De Ligt ends Juve wait for Serie A victory at Spezia
Matthijs de Ligt’s second-half strike earned Juventus their first victory of the Serie A season at the fifth attempt, with a 3-2 comeback win at Spezia on Wednesday moving Massimiliano Allegri’s side out of the bottom three.
The Dutch defender fired home in the 72nd minute to earn Juve all three points, completing the turnaround after his side had trailed in Liguria.
Moise Kean settled Juve nerves and put the visitors 1-0 up in the 28th minute with his first goal since re-signing for the club, firing into the bottom corner after a long ball over the top from Adrien Rabiot.
Five minutes later, however, Emmanuel Gyasi arrowed a fine finish into the net to equalise, before Janis Antiste swung the momentum in the hosts’ favour by putting Spezia 2-1 in front to leave Juve facing the prospect of another shock defeat.
The visitors dug deep in the second half with Italy forward Federico Chiesa battling into the penalty area before firing Juve level in the 66th minute, with De Ligt pouncing to secure the win for his side six minutes later.
The victory moved Juve from 18th to 12th in the standings as Allegri finally earned his first league win since taking over as coach for the second time in the close season. Spezia stay 16th.
