Juventus 5-0 NEC Nijmegen: Five-goal opener despite NEC possession advantage

Juventus defeated NEC Nijmegen 5-0 at Allianz Stadium, winning their UEFA Europa League League Stage opener on Thursday. Juventus led 3-0 at half-time and completed a one-sided scoreline despite NEC having more possession and completing more passes.

Juventus strike early and build a commanding lead

Nicolás Iván Gonzalez opened the scoring in the ninth minute, finishing a move assisted by Kamil Grabara. Juventus doubled their advantage in the 24th minute when Kerim Alajbegovic scored from a pass by Weston McKennie. Nick Woltemade then converted a penalty in the 35th minute, giving the hosts a three-goal lead before the interval.

The first half established the decisive pattern of the match. Juventus took their chances efficiently, while NEC could not turn their periods of possession into goals. The visitors made two changes before the break, with Dennis Geiger replacing Clement Bischoff in the 32nd minute and Jamiro Monteiro coming on for Almugera Kabar at half-time.

Late goals complete the result

Juventus managed their advantage through a series of second-half substitutions. Gleison Bremer replaced McKennie in the 60th minute, while Teun Koopmeiners and Francisco Conceicao entered for Douglas Luiz Soares and Gonzalez one minute later. NEC also brought on Perr Schuurs for Philippe Sandler in the 67th minute.

The home side added a fourth goal in the 75th minute. Zeki Çelik finished with Randal Kolo Muani providing the assist. Kolo Muani then completed the scoring seven minutes later, finding the net after an assist from Jhon Lucumi. The only cards were shown shortly after half-time: Jamiro Monteiro was booked for NEC in the 52nd minute and Douglas Luiz Soares received Juventus’ yellow card in the 53rd. There were no red cards.

Possession favours NEC, but Juventus dominate the finish

The statistics show why the scoreline was more emphatic than the overall possession figures. NEC held 52% of the ball, completed 493 accurate passes compared with Juventus’ 444, and made 550 total passes to Juventus’ 497. Both teams recorded 11 shots. However, Juventus had nine shots inside the box to NEC’s five and put seven efforts on target, compared with three for the visitors. NEC also recorded six shots from outside the box and seven off target, underlining the difference in finishing and chance quality.

Alajbegovic leads the individual ratings

Kerim-Sam Alajbegović was the highest-rated player at 8.1. He played 71 minutes, scored once and registered one shot on target. N. González followed with an 8.0 rating after his early goal, while J. Lucumí earned 7.9 after playing all 90 minutes and supplying one assist.

Opening-round impact

The result gives Juventus a winning start and leaves NEC Nijmegen with a defeat in League Stage Round 1. The supplied standings list Juventus 19th and NEC Nijmegen 23rd, with both teams shown on zero points from zero games; updated post-match positions are not provided. Neither side had recent form data available before the fixture.