Juventus are in crisis after a 2-1 home defeat to Catania that saw fans protest throughout.

The last game of 2009 came at the end of a disastrous few weeks for Ciro Ferrara. The axe was looming after the Champions League exit and 3-1 defeat to Bari, so a victory was the only option here. The Coach was without Mauro Camoranesi, Gigi Buffon, Momo Sissoko, Giorgio Chiellini, Vincenzo Iaquinta and the suspended Christian Poulsen. Sinisa Mihajlovic lost his Catania debut and had Giuseppe Mascara sitting out a ban, but last season this fixture ended 1-1.

It was an ugly start, as the team bus was pelted with eggs as it arrived at the Olimpico. A group of fans also turned their backs on the pitch in protest at recent performances.

Juve struggled to begin with and it was Catania who had the first real chance after 14 minutes. Taka Morimoto was sprinting into the area when Nicola Legrottaglie did just enough to prod the ball off his foot, although he also had a hand on the Japanese international's shoulder and risked a penalty.

Felipe Melo has been one of those hardest hit by fan protests and it seemed to get to him, as the Brazilian made several unforced errors, fuelling more jeers from the stands.

A weak Tiago Mendes effort from the edge of the box did little to frighten Mariano Andujar.

However, Juventus gave away a foolish penalty. Tiago visibly dragged back Spolli's shirt and the referee really couldn't miss that. Martinez scored, but the referee had already blown the whistle for encroachment. The second attempt was in the other corner, but still accurate, as Catania took the lead in Turin.

It was nearly 2-0 when Felipe Melo gave the ball away cheaply in midfield. Juve tried to fight back, as David Trezeguet turned wide from an acrobatic Fabio Cannavaro overhead kick, but the referee saved his blushes by (incorrectly) considering it offside.

Felipe Melo didn't get a pass right and Ferrara spotted he was under a lot of pressure, so introduced Hasan Salihamidzic. The fans were stepping up their protests by hanging banners over the advertising boards that read 'Andrea Agnelli for President.' There was almost more attention focused on the sidelines than the pitch, as the ultras released fireworks and smokebombs to make their point.

Martinez nodded Llama's free kick over the bar and Diego ballooned off target after combining with Martin Caceres. Cannavaro was booked for bringing down Martinez, meaning he'll be suspended for the next game with Parma.

Silvestre came sliding in to block Fabio Grosso from tapping in. With his back to goal, Amauri gathered from Diego and spun round to drill just wide of the near post.

Catania threatened a second goal from Andujar's goal kick, but Morimoto fired off target when he probably should've passed it. Amauri went very close to an equaliser when Trezeguet knocked it down for him to test Andujar at the base of the near post.

Substitute Salihamidzic resisted a tackle and flashed the angled drive across the face of goal, skimming the woodwork.

The pressure was growing and Juventus equalised. Diego spotted Salihamidzic and placed a perfect lobbed pass into the box for his half-volley from nine yards. It was a remote controlled ball for the substitute.

Ferrara threw on Sebastian Giovinco and Alessandro Del Piero. With his first touch Del Piero knocked down a long ball for Trezeguet, but Andujar punched it away and clattered violently into the striker on the way down. There were no more substitutions, so Trez carried on playing with a large bandage on his head.

Giovinco's ball over the top sent Trezeguet through and he fired straight at Andujar. After that chance, the Frenchman had a dizzy spell and collapsed again.

Juve were pouring forward for a corner kick, but were caught out on the counter with Plasmati and Mariano Izco was able to lift the ball over Manninger into the far corner.

The Bianconeri continued to push in a desperate bid to avoid defeat, but Andujar used his legs to parry Diego's shot at the near post.

Juventus: Manninger; Caceres, Cannavaro, Legrottaglie, Grosso; Tiago (Giovinco 66), Felipe Melo (Salihamidzic 32), Marchisio; Diego; Amauri (Del Piero 69), Trezeguet

Catania: Andujar; Alvarez, Silvestre, Spolli, Capuano; Ledesma (Izco 60), Carboni, Biagianti; Martinez, Llama (Bellusci 78); Morimoto (Plasmati 69)

Ref: Pierpaoli