Juventus delivered a strong answer to their 3-2 loss against Sassuolo, defeating NEC Nijmegen 5-0 at the Allianz Stadium in their first Europa League league-phase fixture. Five separate scorers contributed as the Bianconeri seized control of the match with a commanding first-half performance.
The outcome also produced three debut goals for Juventus players, while Kamil Grabara celebrated his first appearance with an assist. NEC had spells of possession and generated several chances, but Juventus’ backline and goalkeeper Grabara kept the visitors from posing a serious threat to the hosts.
Juventus launches ideal Europa League campaign
Juventus required fewer than nine minutes to break the deadlock following a significant error from NEC. Grabara launched a long ball forward on his Juventus debut, while stand-in NEC goalkeeper Nikolas Polster charged out of his box and badly misread the trajectory.
Nico Gonzalez capitalized, rounding Polster before coolly slotting the ball into an unguarded net. The goal gave Grabara an assist on his first outing for the club.
Alajbegovic extended the lead in the 24th minute. Weston McKennie drove the ball forward before picking out the Bosnian on the edge of the penalty area, where he fired his shot into the top corner for his first goal since joining during the summer.
Juventus added a third ten minutes later when Almugera Kabar fouled Gonzalez inside the area. Nick Woltemade sent Polster the wrong way from the penalty spot to claim his first Juventus goal.
NEC Nijmegen generates chances after the interval
Despite the scoreline, NEC were not merely passive across the match. They registered seven shots compared to Juventus’ five by half-time and held more possession, raising their share to 67% during the opening 15 minutes of the second half.
Ayodele Thomas was the visitors’ primary threat, testing Grabara twice and getting past Federico Gatti before delivering from the left. Dennis Geiger, who entered early after Clement Bischoff’s injury, also sent an effort just over the crossbar.
Grabara stayed largely untroubled, while Juventus’ defence kept limiting NEC’s attacking chances. Luciano Spalletti also turned to his substitutes as the match wore on, with Gleison Bremer replacing McKennie on the hour as the American continued his comeback from injury.
Francisco Conceicao and Teun Koopmeiners also came on, replacing Gonzalez and the booked Douglas Luiz. Perr Schuurs entered in the 67th minute and was met with boos from the home supporters.
Juventus seals a five-goal Europa League victory
Randal Kolo Muani needed only four minutes after replacing Alajbegovic to make his mark on the scoresheet. He got past Tobias Storm and cut the ball back for Zeki Celik, who tapped in Juventus’ fourth goal and another first of the night.
Kolo Muani then scored himself in the 82nd minute. Jhon Lucumi released the Frenchman, who finished in a similar manner to Gonzalez’s opener after Polster once again rushed out.
Conceicao went close with a long-range attempt, while Augusto Owusu was handed a late appearance. By that point, however, the result had long been decided as Juventus wrapped up a 5-0 win.
For Spalletti, whose position had been openly debated before kick-off and who had received public support from sporting director Frederic Massara earlier in the day, the emphatic result offered some relief.