Disappointment among the Roma players, jubilation among the Juve players. © APA/afp / MARCO BERTORELLO

Serie A: The Old Lady keeps the title race open

In Saturday's top match of the round, Juventus and Roma faced off. Luciano Spalletti emerged victorious in the duel between the two coaching wily masters.

20 December 2025

From: mv

Juventus and Roma faced off at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Saturday. Both teams are among the top contenders in Serie A. Thanks to an efficient attacking performance, the hosts prevailed 2-1, keeping the title race wide open. League leaders Inter (33 points) and Juventus (5th place, 29 points) are currently separated by just four points. Milan (32), Napoli (31), and Roma (30) occupy the spaces between them – although Inter, Milan, and Napoli have played one game less.

Saturday's match began rather tentatively: Both teams tried to attack, but without success. While the hosts dominated the first half, the visitors became increasingly active as the first 45 minutes progressed. During Roma's strongest spell, Juventus struck ruthlessly: A superb move involving Kenan Yildiz and Andrea Cambiaso was finished off by Francisco Conceicao with a powerful shot into the far corner (44').

Openda celebrates first Serie A goal

After the half-time break, Juventus created chances at a rapid pace: First, Yildiz shot just wide (51st minute), then Conceicao in a one-on-one situation (52nd minute) and Cambiaso with a long-range shot (53rd minute) were both denied by Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar. Gian Piero Gasperini, the Giallorossi coach, reacted to his team's poor performance and made a complete substitution of the attacking trio.

Lois Openda celebrated his first Serie A goal for Juventus. © ANSA / Alessandro Di Marco

The game calmed down somewhat afterwards, but the visitors still couldn't find their rhythm. In the 70th minute, Juventus extended their lead: Svilar could only parry Weston McKennie's header into the path of the American, who then laid the ball off for the unmarked Lois Openda, who had only an open goal to tap in – his first Serie A goal.

Baldanzi shortens, Yildiz has bad luck with aluminum

While the Juve fans were still celebrating Belgian Openda, Roma – somewhat out of nowhere – pulled one back. After the impressive Wesley won the ball, Juve goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio could only parry Evan Ferguson's shot wide, right to the feet of Tommaso Baldanzi, who reduced the deficit to 1-2 (76').

Tommaso Baldanzi briefly raised hopes among Roma supporters. © APA/afp / MARCO BERTORELLO

The visitors threw everything forward and took a high risk. However, the score remained unchanged until the referee's final whistle. This was partly due to Yildiz hitting the post on a counter-attack (80'). Additionally, a Ferguson shot, following a careless mistake by Juve defender Daniele Rugani, lacked power (90+4').

Lazio and Cremonese faced off earlier in the evening. The match ended goalless at 0-0 – the biggest talking point was the sending-off of Cremonese's Federico Ceccherini in stoppage time. Four matches are scheduled for Sunday, including the relegation battle between Cagliari (15th) and Pisa (19th): the two teams are separated by just four points.

Serie A, 16th matchday

Lazio – Cremonese 0:0

Juventus – Roma 2-1
Goals: 1:0 Conceicao (44th), 2:0 Openda (70th), 2:1 Baldanzi (76th)

Sunday's games:
Cagliari – Pisa (12:30 pm)
Sassuolo – Torino (15 p.m.)
Fiorentina – Udinese (18 p.m.)
Genoa – Atalanta (8:45 pm)

Table