Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus celebrates his goal with Andrea Cambiaso of Juventus during the Serie A match between US Lecce and Juventus FC at Stadio Via del Mare on May 09, 2026 in Lecce, Italy. (Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images) | Getty Images” />
LECCE, ITALY – MAY 09: Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus celebrates his goal with Andrea Cambiaso during the Serie A match between US Lecce and Juventus FC at Stadio Via del Mare on May 09, 2026 in Lecce, Italy. (Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The third-from-last match of the 2025-26 Serie A season carried significant weight for both Juventus and Lecce. Juventus controlled their own destiny for Champions League qualification, needing to win all three remaining fixtures to secure a top-four spot. Any slip-up could allow Roma, Como, or both to leapfrog them in the standings. Lecce entered the day four points clear of Cremonese in the battle for safety, and every point mattered in their fight to avoid relegation.
After dropping points the previous week against an already-relegated Verona side, Juventus could ill afford any more mistakes. They came out with urgency, scoring after just 12 seconds—a new club record for the fastest goal in a Serie A game—and could have added two more within the opening six minutes. A rout seemed imminent.
Despite dominating possession for most of the match, the Bianconeri struggled to find the net again, at least not with a goal that counted. Two second-half strikes were ruled out for offside, one of them on a questionable call. Wladimiro Falcone made several fine saves for Lecce, while his counterpart in the Juventus goal also impressed. In the end, the Old Lady held on for a crucial 1-0 victory at the Stadio Via del Mare, keeping them firmly in the hunt for a top-four finish.
Luciano Spalletti finally handed Dusan Vlahovic his first start since late November, but Khéphren Thuram failed a late fitness test, while Arkadiusz Milik and Juan Cabal remained sidelined through injury. With Vlahovic back in the starting XI, Spalletti switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation. Michele Di Gregorio started in goal, with Pierre Kalulu, Bremer, Lloyd Kelly, and Andrea Cambiaso forming the backline. Teun Koopmeiners replaced Thuram in midfield alongside Manuel Locatelli, while Francisco Conceição, Weston McKennie, and Kenan Yildiz operated behind Vlahovic.
Lecce were managed by Eusebio Di Francesco but were missing several key players, including Riccardo Sottil, Medon Berisha, Kialonda Gaspar, and Sadik Fofana. Falcone started in goal behind a 4-2-3-1 formation. Danilo Veiga, Jamil Siebert, Tiago Gabriel, and Antonino Gallo formed the defensive line, while Oumar Ngom and Ylber Ramadani anchored the midfield double pivot. Santiago Pierotti, Lassana Coulibaly, and Lameck Banda provided width behind striker Walid Cheddira. In a touching gesture for Mother’s Day, Lecce players wore their mothers’ names on the backs of their jerseys.
If you blinked at kickoff, you might have missed the game’s only goal. The entire Juventus side moved forward as a unit, and Yildiz quickly switched play to the left. Koopmeiners slightly miscontrolled the ball but managed to push it wide for Cambiaso. The left-back’s first-time cross found Vlahovic, who controlled it beautifully in traffic, turned past Gabriel, and slammed it into the roof of the net.
Officially timed at 12 seconds—though the scoreboard read 11 when the ball hit the net—it was the third-fastest goal scored in Serie A in the last 20 years. It also broke Juventus’s club record for the fastest goal in a Serie A match since the statistic was first tracked in 2004-05, surpassing Arturo Vidal’s 18-second strike against Inter in November 2012.
Lecce almost responded immediately. Banda raced down the left and bypassed Kalulu’s marking by threading a cross between the defender’s legs to Cheddira, who surely thought he would score.
