Juventus found a calmer evening in Europe, beating NEC Nijmegen 4-0 at the Allianz Stadium and allowing a summer rebuild that had quickly come under scrutiny to show a more encouraging face. The Dutch visitors offered far less resistance than Sassuolo had in Juventus’s 3-2 domestic defeat, but the value of the night lay in the confidence it returned to a squad that had begun the season under pressure.
Key takeaways
- Summer arrivals Kerim Alajbegovic, Nick Woltemade, Zeki Celik and Randal Kolo Muani all found the net in the 4-0 win.
- At 18, Alajbegovic became only the second Juventus player under 19 to score for the club in European competition.
- Woltemade opened his Juventus scoring account from the penalty spot after a demanding first start.
- Kolo Muani scored and created Celik’s goal, responding positively after a difficult opening spell in Turin.
- Jhon Lucumi’s long pass helped set up Kolo Muani’s personal breakthrough on the night.
A European night for Juventus’s new faces
It was a match that gave Juventus’s directors and coaching staff some needed breathing room. Every one of the club’s summer recruits involved on the scoresheet had arrived between early June and the opening days of September, turning a straightforward European result into a useful statement about the group’s potential.
NEC left spaces that Juventus were able to exploit repeatedly, and the contest never carried the tension of the recent setback at Sassuolo. That context matters, but so does the effect of a first meaningful collective response after a turbulent month around the club.
Alajbegovic supplied the most notable moment. The Bosnia international struck a powerful right-footed finish into the top corner after Weston McKennie had delivered the ball at the right moment following a quick change of direction. His goal placed him alongside Gianfranco Zigoni in Juventus history: Zigoni had been the only previous Bianconeri teenager to score for the club in Europe, against OFK Belgrade in the 1963 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Beyond the finish, Alajbegovic played with the assurance expected of a player who had been waiting for an opportunity. He attacked the room offered by NEC, took on opponents and won over the Allianz Stadium crowd with the personality behind his dribbling.
After the final whistle, he described the result as a signal to Juventus’s rivals, saying the squad possesses players of the highest level. He also praised his coach for the chances he has received, calling him an excellent person as well as an outstanding manager.
Goals that can change a season’s mood
Woltemade’s first Juventus start was less spectacular, though his contribution went beyond the chances shown in the highlights. The German forward, recently called up by Jürgen Klopp’s Germany, competed physically as a central striker and tried to link the play. He did not take two good openings from close range, but his forceful penalty gave him the goal that forwards often need to settle into a new side.
Woltemade thanked Nico for handing him the ball for the spot-kick. He said a goal is always important for a striker and that it should help him adapt and grow in confidence. The forward also made clear that he is not yet satisfied with his performances and wants to improve so that he can contribute more to the team.
Kolo Muani’s evening had its own significance. A heavy first touch initially brought some frustration from the stands, but he answered it with a sharp, committed display once the game had opened up. Lucumi’s long delivery gave him the chance to break away and score, while his run down the flank to create Celik’s finish was arguably even more important than his individual goal.
His smile as he recovered after that effort reflected the relief of a player seeking a reset after a particularly difficult start to the campaign. Juventus will not treat one comfortable European victory as a solution to every question raised by their league form, yet the four scorers ensured that the night carried more than the value of three points or a place in the next round. It gave the new arrivals a first shared foothold in the season.
