Luciano Spalletti hit his first bump in the road as Juventus manager, after being held to a draw at home to the Portuguese giants. A loss would have made it the worst-ever start to a Champions League campaign for the Bianconeri.
Following his winning debut at the helm at Cremonese last weekend, Spalletti stuck to a winning formation by fielding a 3-4-2-1 formation. Teun Koopmeiners remained at center-back, while Filip Kostic returned to the bench, as Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceicao returned to the starting line-up.
The game exploded into action as Sporting Lisbon's left-back Maximiliano Araujo stunned the sleeping Juventus defense by scoring in the 12th minute against the run of play. Spalletti's
tame backline were caught out. They failed to close attacking midfielder Francisco Trincao, who assisted Aruajo for the breakthrough goal.
Reeling from the early setback, Juve allowed the visitors to make another dangerous attempt that ended up with Trincao's effort rattling the crossbar.
Juventus were quick to respond with a scorching cross from center-back Pierre Kalulu to Dusan Vlahovic, who headed on target only for it to be miraculously saved by Portuguese keeper Rui Silva. The shotstopper made another save 30 seconds later, as the hosts turned up the pressure.
Vlahovic to the rescue
With the game devolving into a chaotic, end-to-end scramble, the Bianconeri desperately needed a goal. They were rewarded when Vlahovic tapped in a 33rd-minute equalizer, set up by from the left wing by Khephren Thuram.
Hungry for their first Champions League victory this term, Juventus came out for the second half with all guns blazing.
Sporting Lisbon did their best to make the contest a slog, calling for fouls and battling heavily for every second ball.
With the tie slowly ebbing away from the Turin titans, Spalletti waited until the 72nd minute to make changes by bringing on Edon Zhegrova and Filip Kostic for Conceicao and Thuram.
Adding to Spalletti's growing woes, captain Manuel Locatelli appeared to have tweaked his hamstring. He was forced off as part of another double substitution, alongside Vlahovic, on 83 minutes.
With Juventus after a worthy winner, which would have reflected their dominance after the turnaround, out-of-form striker Jonathan David was thrown on. He almost snatched a last-gasp winner, but Silva saved his headed attempt
Spalletti has his work cut out
Despite the underwhelming result in Europe's leading club competition, Spalletti's Juventus impressed by creating relentless chances.
Yildiz looked silky and dangerous on the left wing, while his lively partner in crime Vlahovic attacked every ball with ferocity. Kalulu was a standout in the backline, providing two pin-point crosses that came close to being rewarded with a goal.
Sporting Lisbon scored with their only shot on target in the clash, and managed just four shots in total. In contrast the hosts saw half of their 18 shots on target, and on another evening could have eased to a deserved victory.
Spalletti may face a new challenge if Locatelli is sidelined for this weekend's Derby della Mole and urgently needs to find a way to get his underperforming David and Lois Openda on the scoresheet soon.
Battling Bianconeri impress
The Bianconeri boss admitted at the post-match press conference: “I’m pleased with the performance of the team. We showed that we have character, and the guys showed their desire to win the game. If we play like this going forward, we’ll win plenty of matches.
"Playing against Sporting isn’t easy, they have quick and technical players and a very good coach who sets his team up well.
"The reaction we got right from the start gave me hope, it seemed as though the whole stadium understood the team’s approach well, and that’s a good sign.”
JUVENTUS: Di Gregorio - Koopmeiners, Gatti, Kalulu - Cambiaso, Thuram (Zhegrova, 72), Locatelli (Miretti 83), McKennie - Conceicao (Kostic 72), Yildiz (David, 87) - Vlahovic (Adzic, 83). Subs: Perin, Openda, Rugani, Mario, Rouhi, Scagila