Serie A

Spalletti advised to sub David off moments before quick-fire Juventus goal and assist – Football Italia

January 7, 2026

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Spalletti advised to sub David off moments before quick-fire Juventus goal and assist – Football Italia

SASSUOLO, ITALY – JANUARY 06: Jonathan David of Juventus scores his team’s third goal during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and Juventus FC at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on January 06, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Jonathan David provided an assist and then broke his 16-game Serie A drought against Sassuolo on Tuesday evening, and TV audio shows that Juventus had considered substituting the Canadian off a few moments before he made it 3-0.

Juventus were handed a first-half lead against Sassuolo thanks to an unfortunate Tarik Muharemovic own-goal. Fabio Miretti made it 2-0 midway through the second half after some strong centre-forward play from David. The Canadian then found the back of the net himself a few moments later after a big mistake at the back from Jay Idzes.

You can see how the action from all of Tuesday’s Serie A matches unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Spalletti almost subbed David off in Sassuolo 0-3 Juventus

SASSUOLO, ITALY - JANUARY 06: Jonathan David of Juventus celebrates scoring his team's third goal during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and Juventus FC at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on January 06, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images) — SASSUOLO, ITALY – JANUARY 06: Jonathan David of Juventus celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and Juventus FC at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on January 06, 2026 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

The Juventus dugout emptied when David’s individual effort hit the back of the net. The Canadian had not scored in Serie A since the opening weekend of the 2025-26 season before Tuesday night.

Even head coach Luciano Spalletti was involved in the on-pitch celebrations as the Old Lady gave their centre-forward a massive show of support.

It might have been a moment of relief for Spalletti as well, as pitchside microphones caught the Juve head coach in discussion with his assistant Marco Domenichini over a potential substitution just a few moments before.

“Shall we bring on Openda for David,” Domenichini was heard asking Spalletti (via TMW).

This discussion took place just a few moments before David provided an excellent assist for Miretti, which came less than two minutes before the Canadian scored one for himself.