Juventus dominated throughout but were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Nantes after Ludovic Blas scored a priceless equaliser in the Europa League play-off.
Massimiliano Allegri's side fell into this competition after a dire Champions League campaign, finishing third in Group H, but looked good value for their early first-leg lead on Thursday.
Dusan Vlahovic tapped home after 13 minutes at Allianz Stadium, only for Blas to finish a flowing counter-attack in the second half before Juve were left aggrieved after a late VAR check deemed Andrei Girotto had not handled for a penalty in the dying minutes.
That left it all to play for in the return meeting at Beaujoire Stadium on February 23 after a wasteful Juve offered Nantes the chance for a memorable European night at home.
Angel Di Maria stung the palms of Alban Lafont with an early drive and Nantes did not heed the opening warning signs from Argentina's World Cup winner.
A delicate Di Maria chipped pass found Federico Chiesa to selflessly nod across for Vlahovic to convert from point-blank range.
Lafont parried another ferocious Di Maria long-range effort as a tepid Nantes were fortunate to head in at half-time just a goal down.
A clinical counter-attack drew Nantes level on the hour as Blas capitalised on Bremer's slip to race onto Mostafa Mohamed's pass and fire past Wojciech Szczesny.
Chiesa rattled the crossbar and Lafont's left post with a venomous left-footed strike that somehow bounced off the line and away from goal as Juve looked to respond.
Danilo blazed over on the volley before Girotto was deemed not to have handled when challenging a late Bremer headed chance, with the referee awarding a free-kick for a push on Girotto instead, leaving it all to play for in France next week.
What does it mean? Juve falter in rare Europa League appearance
Juve had played their last 84 matches in European competition in the Champions League, as has been their dominance in recent years on the continent.
On their first appearance in the Europa League since reaching the 2013-14 semi-finals, Allegri's side failed to make their superiority count and were punished for a profligate outing.
Any hopes in Serie A have diminished due to their points deduction, therefore Juve need to recover in the return leg as a run in Europe or April's Coppa Italia semi-final against Inter could be their only hope of salvaging a positive season.
Chiesa and Vlahovic finally link-up again
Star Juve attackers Chiesa and Vlahovic have rarely played together due to injuries hampering the pair this season, but Allegri will be delighted to see them together once more.
The duo linked up in ruthless fashion for the opening strike, just their second combination together for a goal – the other coming in August 2019 when Vlahovic assisted Chiesa for former side Fiorentina.
Lafont leads the way
Lafont produced a captain's performance as Nantes battled with their backs against the wall to keep their hopes alive in this two-legged affair.
While the majority were far from eye-catching, the France goalkeeper made six saves in a vital performance to stave off Juve's prolonged periods of pressure.
What's next?
Juventus return to Serie A action at Spezia on Sunday, when Nantes travel to Lens in Ligue 1.
Al Ahli 1-2 Al Hilal: Malcom saves league leaders' winning streak
Malcom’s stunning solo goal finished Al Hilal’s second-half comeback to earn a 2-1 win over Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Monday.
The forward started his run from inside his own half before slotting in the winner, after teeing up Aleksandr Mitrovic for the equaliser just after the interval.
Feras Al Brikan had given Al Ahli the lead in the 30th minute, but the hosts could not hold onto it against the league leaders.
Al Hilal continue their unbeaten league campaign to a 30th match, moving 12 points clear at the top of the table, while Al Ahli remain in third, now 22 points off the AFC Champions League spot.
Data Debrief
Malcom was one of Al Hilal's most influential players; as well as playing a hand in both goals, he had the joint-most shots (five), and the joint-most shots on target (two), and created two chances for his team.
Al Ahli also struggled to cope with Mitrovic's threat, as the Serbian created an xG of 0.61 from his five shots, having 11 touches in the opposition box.
Allegri admits to regrets as Juventus slump continues
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri admitted to having regrets after the Bianconeri missed the chance to close the gap to second-placed Milan in Sunday's Serie A draw with Roma.
Romelu Lukaku put Roma ahead early on at the Stadio Olimpico but Bremer's header dragged Juventus level before the break, as two teams vying for a top-five finish cancelled each other out.
Juventus have now won just two of their last 14 league games, and Allegri reacted to the final whistle on Sunday by storming off the bench and throwing his jacket to the ground in frustration.
Speaking to DAZN after the game, Allegri said: "There are regrets, naturally we could've done better during this period, but football is vicious like that, sometimes it just doesn't go your way.
"We risked losing a game that we were in a position to win at the start of the second half."
Despite four consecutive Serie A draws, Juventus remain six points clear of fifth-placed Roma and nine ahead of Atalanta in sixth – though La Dea have two games in hand.
With Italy guaranteed five Champions League qualification places for next season, they remain in a strong position to return to Europe's premier club competition, while they are also due to face Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final on May 15.
"The important thing now is to concentrate on the next game, as that is the match point for the Champions League, then we have the Coppa Italia final," Allegri said.
"The club will evaluate at the end of the season, naturally there are some solid foundations for Juve, but we were missing players like [Paul] Pogba, [Nicolo] Fagioli and of course [Federico] Chiesa was on and off."
Despite Juventus enjoying a broadly positive campaign after finishing seventh in 2022-23, when they were hampered by a 10-point deduction after an investigation into their historical financial dealings, Allegri's position has been called into question lately.
Asked about his own future, he said: "I don't know, you'd have to ask the club.
"The important thing is for us to focus on the Coppa Italia final and hopefully, we’ll come back here with the Champions League already achieved."
Roma 1-1 Juventus: Juve miss chance to close gap to second after draw with Roma
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, missing the chance to close in on Milan in second place in Serie A.
Roma took the lead after 15 minutes when Romelu Lukaku found himself in the perfect position to tap in the rebound from a Bryan Cristante shot.
Bremer levelled with a header for Juventus just after the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa picked him out inside the box from a corner.
Both sides had chances to find a winner in the final minutes, with Roma keeper Mile Svilar making a fingertip save to push Manuel Locatelli's volley over the bar.
Third-placed Juventus have 66 points, five fewer than Milan, who drew 3-3 with Genoa earlier on Sunday. Roma are fifth with 60 points.
Data Debrief: Leading from the back
Since scoring his first Serie A goal in the 2019-20 season, Bremer is the defender with the most headed goals in the Big-5 European leagues, netting 13 in total. Each of his last seven goals have been headers.
His goal was enough to earn Juventus a point today, but it means that they have drawn each of their last four in the competition - a first since February-March 2012 under Antonio Conte.
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