Why Spalletti brought on Zhegrova instead of Conceicao in Juventus vs. Lazio | OneFootball

Luciano Spalletti opted to make a half-time substitution during the interval of Juventus’s Serie A clash against Lazio on Sunday evening, but he was forced into changing his mind at the final minute after it appeared that Francisco Conceicao would be unable to enter.

Juventus hosted Lazio at the Allianz Arena on Sunday evening, and surprisingly fell two goals behind after strikes from Pedro and Gustav Isaksen. Weston McKennie brought one back just shy of the hour mark before a last-gasp equualiser from Pierre Kalulu with 15 seconds of injury time remaining.

You can see how the action unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Why Conceicao couldn’t come on during Juventus vs. Lazio

VERONA, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 20: Francisco Conceicao celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the Serie A match against Hellas Verona FC at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi on September 20, 2025 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Scaccianoce/Getty Images)

With his team trailing 1-0 at the half-time break, Spalletti decided to make an attacking substitution.

He took off full-back Juan Cabal and had originally intended to replace him with Portugal international Conceicao, who was seen receiving detailed instructions from the Juventus coaching staff while warming up at half-time.

However, it soon became apparent that Conceicao had felt something in his knee while warming up, and the Juventus team decided against risking him for the second half against Lazio, which is why they decided to bring on Zhegrova for Cabal instead.