Ndour and Mandragora sink Juventus 0-2 as Spalletti's side drop to sixth in Serie A
Juventus finished matchday 37 outside the Champions League places. Fiorentina took 2-0 at the Allianz Stadium, Cher Ndour and Rolando Mandragora supplying the goals, and Juve dropped to sixth in Serie A with one game to play. Como, who beat Parma 1-0, are level on 68 points. Milan and Roma, in third and fourth on 70, now have the buffer Juve cannot make up alone.
Ndour and Mandragora finish it
The first goal arrived in the 34th minute. Manor Solomon picked Ndour out inside the box and the 21-year-old midfielder finished low past Michele Di Gregorio for his side's lead. Juventus had the rest of the half and most of the second to find a response and could not, with Spalletti's attack short of ideas at the Allianz.
Mandragora's second arrived in the 83rd minute, and it was the cleaner of the two. The ball dropped to him on the edge of the box, he took one touch, and his first-time strike flew into the top corner. By the time Juventus regrouped the match was done. A late red card for Luca Ranieri did not change the scoreline.
Sixth place and a final-day calculation
For Juventus this is the worst possible reading of the table. Inter Milan have already wrapped up the title. Napoli sit second on 73 after their 3-0 win at Pisa. Milan and Roma are level on 70 in third and fourth. That leaves the last Champions League seat in the hands of any two of those four sides on the final day, and Juventus, on 68, need both Milan and Roma to drop points just to have a chance.
Como being on the same number tightens the squeeze. Cesc Fabregas's side beat Parma 1-0 at home on Sunday through Alberto Moreno's goal early in the second half, and the head-to-head split now matters as much as the points column on the final day. Sixth place is the bigger story than the form. It has cost Juventus the steering wheel.
Spalletti's first big stumble
Luciano Spalletti was brought in to settle Juventus and steady their European campaign. The defeat in front of his own crowd lands differently because Fiorentina were not the team Juve needed to beat on form. The Viola sat in the lower reaches of the table for most of the season and walked off the Allianz with three points anyway. Juventus's attack mustered no clear chance of note in the final twenty minutes.
The Allianz emptied early, which says enough about how the night played out. One game left, two teams above to catch, and another behind them, level on points, holding all the leverage.
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