Juventus Draw 1-1 with Fiorentina in Serie A
Juventus settled for a 1-1 draw against Fiorentina in Serie A action on Saturday at Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence, Italy, extending their unbeaten run under new manager Luciano Spalletti but failing to close the gap on the league leaders. Filip Kostic scored for the visitors in first-half stoppage time, only for Rolando Mandragora to equalize early in the second half with a long-range strike.
The match began with early controversy when Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic went down in the penalty area after a backheel flick and shirt tug involving Fiorentina defender Pablo Mari. The referee initially pointed to the spot but reversed the decision following a VAR review, deeming it a mutual infraction. Tensions escalated as sections of the home crowd directed discriminatory chants toward the Serbian forward, prompting the referee to pause play and issue a stadium announcement condemning the behavior. Spalletti later addressed the incident, stating that Vlahovic reacted appropriately but emphasizing the need to eliminate such actions from the sport.
Juventus took the lead in the 45th minute plus six seconds when a blocked shot from Manuel Locatelli fell to Kostic, who unleashed a...