Spalletti empties the bench and Juventus find a way past Parma

For 45 minutes this was going nowhere, and the Allianz Stadium let Luciano Spalletti know it. Then he changed it.

At the break he sent on Nico Gonzalez and Vasilije Alajbegovic for Jonathan David and Jeremie Boga. On 62 minutes Gonzalez let fly with his left foot from distance; the ball clipped the post and went in off a Parma defender. Teun Koopmeiners, another substitute, curled the second in from the edge of the area on 88.

The record signing off the bench

Koopmeiners' second-half impact fits his profile: Juventus paid Atalanta a reported €59 million for him in the summer of 2024, a club-record fee at the time, after the Dutch international had scored 26 goals in 97 Serie A appearances for the Bergamo club under Gian Piero Gasperini. He was a key figure in Atalanta's run to the 2024 Europa League title, playing in every game but one as they beat an unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen in the final — the trophy that ended the club's 61-year wait for major silverware.

A win built on the changes

Juventus finished with 1.69 expected goals to Parma's 0.22 and the game under control once Gonzalez had broken it open. Parma have now lost both their matches without scoring.

Match facts

• 62' — Nico Gonzalez (Juventus)
• 88' — Teun Koopmeiners (Juventus)

Parma's early-season goal drought

Parma arrived at the Allianz Stadium already goalless. They had opened the season with a 0-1 home defeat to Cagliari, managing only two shots on target as Cagliari hit the woodwork three times before Alessandro Romano's long-range strike settled it. This second successive loss without scoring stretched that run to two matches, and it did not end here — Alberto Gilardino's side went another game without a win before Simone Lontani, introduced from the bench, scored his first Serie A goal to earn a 1-1 draw with Monza back at the Tardini. It took until matchday 5, a 2-1 win over Genoa, for Parma to record their first victory of the season.

Where the run went next

For Juventus, the win over Parma kept alive an unbeaten start that lasted three matchdays. Luciano Spalletti's side were held 1-1 at home by AC Milan on matchday 3 — Federico Gatti heading a stoppage-time equaliser, with Teun Koopmeiners again involved after also playing a part in the winning goal here — then suffered their first defeat of the season, 3-2 away to Sassuolo, before responding with a 2-0 win over Atalanta on matchday 5. That run of three wins, a draw and a defeat leaves Juventus 5th in Guriball's table on 10 points from five games, in the Europa League place, level on points with fourth-placed Frosinone and seventh-placed Como but separated by goal difference.

Parma stay in the bottom half

Parma, by contrast, remain in the bottom half. The win over Genoa lifted them to 15th on 4 points from five games, with a goal difference of -3 — two points clear of the relegation zone, but still with more to prove after a start that produced only one win in five.

What's next

Juventus join Milan on six points from two wins, provisionally third on goal difference. Parma stay in the bottom half without a point or a goal. After the international break Juventus host Milan in the pick of matchday 3; Serie A returns in mid-September.