Juventus held 2-2 by Rennes in Europa League

Nick Woltemade set up one goal and scored another from the penalty spot as Juventus was held to a 2-2 draw by Stade Rennais in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday at Allianz Stadium in Turin.

Zeki Çelik opened the scoring for the Italian club in the fifth minute, finishing a fast break with a right-footed shot from the right side of the box after a through ball from Woltemade, according to ESPN’s match report and UEFA’s official match record.

Rennes answered 10 minutes later when Musa Al-Taamari scored from close range after a headed pass from Bryan Reynolds. Boulaye Dia then put the French side ahead from the penalty spot in the 43rd minute.

Woltemade levelled the match in the 67th minute, sending his penalty down the middle. Neither side found a winner in the final 20 minutes.

Rennes had the better of the chances overall, outshooting Juventus 16 to 14 and putting five shots on target to the home side’s four, according to ESPN’s match statistics. Juventus had 54 per cent of possession. Federico Gatti of Juventus and Abdelhamid Aït Boudlal of Rennes were booked. The crowd was announced at 41,554.

Juventus remains unbeaten with seven points from three matches, seventh in the 36-team league-phase table, according to ESPN’s standings. Rennes has five points from a win and two draws and sits 13th.

Both teams are back in league play on Sunday. Juventus visits Lecce in Serie A at 1 p.m. Eastern time (11 a.m. Mountain), while Rennes hosts Strasbourg in Ligue 1 at 12:15 p.m. Eastern (10:15 a.m. Mountain).

Thursday’s Europa League program also saw Bournemouth beat 10-man AC Milan 3-0 and Crystal Palace draw 2-2 at Besiktas. In the Champions League on Wednesday, Real Madrid beat RB Leipzig 4-1.

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