Woltemade Rescues Juventus a 2-2 Draw, Then VAR Cancels His Late Winner

Celik’s early strike didn’t settle things

Woltemade sent a volley over the bar from Weston McKennie’s cross in the fourth minute, then set up the opening goal a minute later. After a quick one-two with McKennie, he found Zeki Celik, whose finish rippled the bottom corner.

Mousa Al-Taamari levelled in the 15th minute, getting the better of Federico Gatti to do so. Rennes then moved ahead when Mahamadou Nagida’s shot hit Douglas Luiz’s hand, and Boulaye Dia buried the resulting penalty shortly before half-time. Juventus had started brightly, but two defensive lapses turned the scoreline around before the break.

Juventus pushed hard after the break

Juventus had already threatened before the interval. Brice Samba stopped McKennie’s first attempt, and the American hit the woodwork with the rebound. Samba also made a sharp close-range stop to deny Gatti.

A VAR check found Rennes had handled the ball, and Juventus were awarded a penalty in the 67th minute. Woltemade stepped up and converted it to make it 2-2. He had provided the assist for Celik’s opener and then netted the equaliser himself.

VAR cancelled a late Juventus goal

Jhon Lucumi scored from close range following a free-kick in the 88th minute, and Juventus briefly thought they had taken the win. However, VAR judged Lucumi offside when Teun Koopmeiners redirected the free-kick, so the goal was ruled out.

The result left both sides with one point after the third round of the Europa League league phase. Juventus remain unbeaten in the competition, while Rennes took a point after bouncing back well from the early Celik goal. McKennie had two chances before half-time, Woltemade drew Juventus level from the spot after the break, and only Lucumi’s late effort was wiped out by VAR.