Luciano Spalletti was shown the replay, smiled and asked for a different question. The João Mário handball that Juventus wanted as a penalty in the 2-2 draw at Fiorentina on Sunday was, according to the referee analysts at Eurosport Italia and Il Messaggero, a penalty that should have been given. Spalletti refused to argue it. What he did talk about was harder on his own team: a side that, in his words, tends "to drown in a glass of water," and now heads into the international break with 18 points from 11 games, its worst Serie A start since 2021-22.

The call Spalletti wouldn't touch

The incident came around the 78th minute at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, with the score at 2-2. A loose ball in the Fiorentina box struck João Mário's arm, held away from his body. Referee Andrea Colombo waved play on and VAR did not intervene, leaving the on-field decision in place.

Eurosport Italia's review said the arm was "large" and that the Portuguese defender had time to correct his movement even though the ball arrived suddenly, concluding that the penalty "should have been given." Il Messaggero called Colombo's overall performance "rivedibile" (open to review) and flagged the same missed penalty.

Asked about it on DAZN Italia, Spalletti answered: "I don't know, do you have an alternative question? I didn't need a replay, I already saw it on the pitch."

It was a pointed non-answer. Juventus also appealed when Randal Kolo Muani's shot hit Viery's arm in the 41st minute, but Eurosport's review found that arm was tight to the body and there was no case there.

Fiorentina's grievance was the weaker one

Fiorentina had their own complaint. Radu Dragusin headed past his former Tottenham teammate Guglielmo Vicario late on for what would have been a 3-2 lead, but Colombo disallowed it for a two-handed push on Gleison Bremer. Both Eurosport and Il Messaggero said that decision was correct.

How Juventus fell behind twice

Fiorentina led after four minutes, when Mateo Pellegrino rose above Nick Woltemade to head in a corner from Pote. Juventus answered through Woltemade himself in the 32nd minute, a low finish from Kolo Muani's cross down the right and the German's first Serie A goal.

Weston McKennie, starting on the right of Spalletti's line behind the striker, nearly got there first: his 10th-minute header from a corner went wide. He played 78 minutes before Jeff Ekhator replaced him.

The second Fiorentina goal is the one Spalletti kept coming back to. Vicario pushed out Álex Jiménez's low cross, nobody in white reacted, and Alieu Njie bundled the rebound in nine minutes after halftime. "In some moments we decided not to make decisions, we just stay there and accept the situation," Spalletti said. "When you wallow in the doubt, you never manage to be in control of a situation."

Bremer leveled in the 66th minute, beating David De Gea to a Douglas Luiz corner and turning it in off his shoulder, a goal the referee analysts also judged legal. Vicario then made a late double save to protect the point.

A new front line, the same problem

Spalletti changed his attack, pushing Jérémie Boga and Kolo Muani wide with Woltemade through the middle. He explained it as a response to Fiorentina's pressing, since Juventus "don't build out too well from the back" and needed a direct target. He praised Kolo Muani's renewed energy and said Woltemade, though not a natural hold-up player, is "the best at it in the squad."

The diagnosis that mattered, though, was about consistency. "We do really well for 10 minutes, then are lacking in something else the next," he said.

Where it leaves Juventus

The point leaves Juventus seventh on 18 points, six behind fourth-placed AC Milan and the last Champions League spot.

Spalletti could have spent the break pointing at Colombo's missed call. He chose to point at his own players instead, and the table backs him: the analysts’ verdict gave Juventus grounds to question the missed penalty, but Spalletti instead focused on his team’s indecision. The 18-point tally reflects 11 league matches, not just one disputed call.

Archival photo credit: Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, March 2019. Photo: Sailko / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0; cropped and resized.