Celta Vigo Lead Juventus Through Hugo Álvarez Goal in Europa League

In Vigo, with Balaídos reduced to about 24,870 places during its reconstruction, Celta turned a difficult European evening against Juventus into a one-goal advantage. Hugo Álvarez’s composed finish has Celta 1-0 ahead early in the second half of their Europa League group-stage meeting, after the home side absorbed long spells of Italian possession before finding their own passing rhythm.

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Celta struck in the 18th minute through a move that shifted the mood around Balaídos. Ferran Jutglà linked play inside the Juventus area, Javi Rueda sent the ball across for Williot, and the forward chose not to shoot from close range. Instead, he picked out the arriving Hugo Álvarez, who finished past Guglielmo Vicario.

Juventus, under Luciano Spalletti, had started with more of the ball and continued to dictate possession after falling behind. Celta’s defensive shape held firm for much of the opening period, with goalkeeper Ionuț Radu dealing with a central Teun Koopmeiners header and later collecting a Weston McKennie cross.

The visitors did create openings. Federico Gatti fired far over after controlling the ball in the box, Koopmeiners failed to connect with a tempting Kalulu delivery, and Nick Woltemade sent an effort over following a clearance error from Yoel Lago. Armin Alajbegovic was also blocked by Javi Rodríguez when he found room in the area.

At the other end, Jutglà has given Celta a useful outlet against Juventus’s central defenders. He supplied Williot for an early header saved by Vicario, then drove forward for a shot that missed the target. Hugo Álvarez later beat two opponents in the penalty area but put his attempt wide.

Williot received the game’s first yellow card in the 39th minute for a late challenge on Koopmeiners. At half-time, Celta had registered four shots to Juventus’s seven, although the Galician side led the shots-on-target count 2-1. Juventus held 52% possession, while corners stood at 2-1 in their favour.

Neither team made a change at the interval. Juventus resumed on the front foot, with Woltemade’s shot blocked for a corner, Andrea Cambiaso sending a difficult bouncing effort harmlessly to Radu, and Francisco Conceição forcing the Romanian goalkeeper into a save and another corner. Radu also rushed out to clear ahead of Jutglà after a long ball threatened to release Celta’s striker.

The score remains Celta 1-0 Juventus shortly after the 53rd minute, with the visitors pressing hard around the home penalty area.

Team news and the European night in Vigo

Claudio Giráldez selected Radu in goal, behind Javi Rodríguez, Yoel Lago and Marcos Alonso. Javi Rueda, Fran Beltrán Febas, Ilaix Moriba and Sergio Carreira formed the midfield line, with Hugo Álvarez, Jutglà and Williot leading the attack.

Juventus began with Vicario; Pierre Kalulu, Gatti and Lloyd Kelly; McKennie, Koopmeiners, Sarr and Cambiaso; Conceição, Alajbegovic and Woltemade.

Celta came into their first home Europa League fixture of the 2026-27 campaign with eight points from their opening eight league matches, but with signs of improvement after an uneven start. Giráldez had described Juventus as one of Europe’s great clubs and among the leading contenders for the trophy, while saying his players were eager for the occasion.

Iago Aspas had also defended the manager amid criticism of Celta’s recent football, noting that every club would like to reproduce Barcelona’s level and win 4-1 away from home, but that not every squad has the same resources or players.

Celta are without Durán, El Abdellaoui, Borja Iglesias, Román and Carl Starfelt through injury. Juventus travelled without Boga, Durmisi, Ekhator, Grabara, Locatelli, Milik, Rugani, Thuram, Yildiz and Zhegrova.

Dutch referee Sander van der Eijk is overseeing the match, with Michael Salisbury on VAR duty. The game kicked off at 21:00 local time in Vigo.