With the senior team inactive due to the World Cup break, Juventus took the opportunity to debut the Next Gen squad (formerly known as Juventus U23) at the Allianz Stadium.
With an attendance of 28,000 fans, Massimo Brambilla’s men welcomed Mantova to the big stadium for a Serie C fixture.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the attendance came very close to setting a new record for Serie C, but fell short of the number set by Palermo last season (28,572).
However, it turned out to be a bittersweet occasion for the young bianconeri who had hoped to score another win, their sixth in a row in all competitions, but ultimately had to settle for a draw.
Next Gen found themselves trailing in the 5th minute when Emanuele Matteucci opened the scoring for Mantova. Luckily, Iocolano equalized three minutes later.
After the half-time break, the visitors scored another early goal, this time courtesy of Philip Yeboah. However, a late own goal saved face for the Bianconeri who avoided what would have been a disappointing defeat.
Therefore, Brambilla’s men remain eighth in the Serie C standings with 23 points in 15 rounds. They have been unbeaten in their last six league outings.
