Monday, May 16, 2022 at 10:45 PM• Tim Cozijnsen • Last update: 23:00

Juventus said goodbye to Giorgio Chiellini on Monday evening against Lazio after 17 years. For that reason, the 37-year-old club icon received an honorable public change after seventeen minutes and later in the game, the fans in the Allianz Stadium also said goodbye to Paulo Dybala. Nothing was at stake for Juventus, but for Lazio it was: the Romans won a Europa League ticket in the very last second: 2-2. Lazio now certainly finishes fifth or sixth in Serie A; Juventus was already in fourth place.

Juventus entered the game without Matthijs de Ligt, who was soon allowed to enter the field when changing Chiellini. For the latter it was his last home game in the shirt of Juventus. Lazio had to do without the top scorer of the competition: Ciro Immobille was not part of the selection due to an injury and was unable to consolidate his number one position on the top scorers list (27 goals).

After ten minutes it was already hit for the home team. Morata received a corner kick taken quickly and sharply cut a cross. Vlahovic cleverly walked away from opponent Adam Marusic and dove into the cross near the far post, low into the short corner: 1-0. It was the 51st goal for the Serb, which puts him on a level with compatriot Dejan Stankovic. Both now share the record for most goals scored by a Serbian player in Serie A.

Not much later it was Chiellini who got attention. Chiellini was replaced by De Ligt and made a round through the entire stadium after his substitution. Lazio looked for an opening in Juventus’ defense, but saw the Old lady score the second goal after a weak pass. Dybala found Juan Cuadrado with a handsome chop, who was not selfish around the penalty area and played Morata. Surrounded by four men, the Spaniard still managed to find a hole and hit the ball in the far corner: 2-0.

Just after the break, Lazio brought the tension back into the game. Patric seemed to head a corner wide of the goal, but Sandro tapped the ball into his own goal in a reflex: 2-1. Lazio was looking for the equalizer and was close via Danilo Cataldi. Goalkeeper Mattia Perin, however, had an excellent response to the midfielder’s free kick. Fifteen minutes before the end, Dybala also got the opportunity to thank the audience. The Argentina international struggled to hold back his tears. After a hug from Allegri, Dybala got a hug from Chiellini. Deep into stoppage time, Lazio forced an all-important point. A hard long shot from Toma Basic was narrowly tapped by Perin and then simply tapped in by Sergej Milinkovic-Savic: 2-2.