Sunday night’s clash was never going to be easy considering their poor form. The Turin titans were outplayed and manager Tudor outwitted by former Juve boss Maurizio Sarri inside the jam-packed Stadio Olimpico.
Tudor reverted to a double-pronged attack of Jonathan David and Dusan Vlahovic after a hat-trick of matches without finding the back of the net.
Yet it was David who helped Lazio score what turned out to be a ninth-minute winner with his poor header from Mattia Perin’s goal kick.
Perin was picked over first choice shotstopper Michele Di Gregorio, the midweek hero for the Real Madrid Champions League reversal, as Juventus have three matches coming up in the space of a week.
Croatian tactician Tudor left Turkish talent Kenan Yildiz on the bench and reinstalled skipper Manuel Locatelli to a starting berth following the Italian international's mischievous social media post.
It was still a familiar back three for the Bianconeri, but a new 3-5-2 formation from Tudor in a bid to register their first win since the mid-September Derby d’Italia success.
With back-to-back defeats without scoring against Como and Real Madrid, Lazio offered under pressure Tudor an easier match on paper.
Yet the first attack of the contest ended up with the only goal of the game. Perin’s lame goal kick was headed back way before the halfway line by David into the path of Danilo Cataldi.
His neat first touch found Toma Basic, whose left footed drive soared into the bottom right corner past stranded Perin. The strike made the home supporters and manager Sarri wild with excitement.
Ill discipline from Bianconeri
Apart from seven minute spells at both the start and end of the second half, Juventus were mediocre opponents for well-drilled Lazio and caused few problems apart from ill discipline.
Lloyd Kelly, Teun Koopmeiners, Locatelli and Weston McKennie all received a yellow card, with American ace McKennie fortunate not to be booked for a second time during the intense second-half.
McKennie and Andrea Cambiaso fluffed chances to equalize. Just after the half-hour mark both Matteo Guendouzi and Gustav Isaksen wasted close-range efforts to double Lazio’s tally.
David’s attempt was saved by keeper Ivan Provedel on 34 minutes, with Francisco Conceicao and Vlahovic guilty of wasting opportunities as Juventus started to get back into the game before the break.
Rested Yildiz given run out
With Lazio looking more polished in every department across the pitch, Tudor introduced Yildiz for Cambiaso after the half-time interval.
It was a frantic purple patch at the start of the second half by Juventus, but only Locatelli troubled Provedel into making a save.
At the other end Perin made amends for his lame goal kick, which led to the goal, by stopping Basic’s header and denying Boulaye Dia’s effort following an impressive solo run.
Yildiz’s best chance to score was an acrobatic shot on 72 minutes that simply lacked power, with Lazio swift to keep dispossessing the 20-year-old to make him virtually ineffective.
Further frustration for Juventus
Substitute Khephren Thuram forced Provedel into a magnificent save with 15 minutes remaining. Juve started to find their feet, although they continued to look extremely frustrated.
Striker Lois Openda was sent on for the last 12 minutes in a desperate measure to level matters. He was outshone by Sarri sending on Pedro, who came close to adding a second goal with his very first touch.
The visitors moved through the gears in the closing stages, including six minutes of stoppage time, to leave the result on a knife edge until the final whistle.
Yet nothing came from Juve’s couple of corners and Thuram’s added time weak header, which was steered straight into the safe hands of Provedel.
With Juve’s three highly-paid strikers all playing together and failing to score, on top of six players plus the keeper frequently occupying their penalty area, highlights that Tudor’s tactics are failing badly.
Why Tudor remains in charge
A winless run of eight games would normally have ended up with Juventus giving their manager the boot. However, the Bianconeri are under investigation for a potential FFP breach by UEFA, so affects the financial implications of pulling the trigger on underwhelming Tudor.
The chance to return to the top four in Serie A eluded Juventus, who produced another mediocre display and were toothless upfront. They now lie six points behind leaders Napoli and second-placed AS Roma.
Where the goals will come from is anyone’s guess, as none of the strikers looked capable of finding the back of the net and Tudor’s 3-5-2 formation showed no sign of improvement.
No doubt fans will be fuming at another defeat with scoring. Clearly confidence and morale are low within the squad, so bouncing back from this reversal is not going to be a simple task.
Juve have a shot at winning
Udinese are Wednesday’s visitors to the Allianz Stadium followed by a trip for Juve to newly-promoted Cremonese on Saturday. The Italian giants tackle Sporting Lisbon (4 November) and host the derby against Torino (8 November) before the two-week international break.
Winning is a word that seems alien to Juventus at the moment, and bagging maximum points will remain mission impossible until they start playing as a unit. Tudor’s time looks up, but circumstances are keeping him in the job for now.
Tudor admitted in his post-match conference: “We prepared for the match in the right way, but we're still missing something. There's no need to dramatize the situation, we're all responsible for this difficult period.
"It's a difficult moment, we need to stick together, close ranks and work harder as a team. We need to get back to winning ways.”
JUVENTUS: Perin - Kelly (Mario, 86), Gatti, Kalulu - Cambiaso (Yildiz, 45), McKennie (Openda, 78), Locatelli, Koopmeiners (Thuram, 66), Conceicao - David (Kostic), Vlahovic. Subs: Zhegrova, Di Gregorio, Adzic, Miretti, Rugani, Fuscaldo, Felipe