Juventus advances in the Netherlands in a nail-biter: Kolo Muani scores the winner. The Europa League standings

Another breath of fresh air for Juventus, which—after defeating Napoli on Sunday—is back on track in the Europa League as well, winning 2-1 in the Netherlands against AZ Alkmaar in the match for Matchday 4 of the group stage. Spalletti’s team is now fifth in the standings with 10 points and is getting closer to securing direct qualification for the round of 16.

It was a decidedly positive first half for Juventus, who controlled the match from the opening minutes and took the lead in the 23rd minute when Koopmeiners scored with a flat-footed shot from the edge of the box, assisted by Kolo Muani. The Dutch side showed signs of a comeback (Kwakman had two chances) but had to substitute Schouten, who was injured, bringing on Hoedt. In the 37th minute, Juventus made it 2-0: Kolo Muani, after a give-and-go with Woltemade, scored on a rebound to double the lead.

In the second half, Juve didn’t let up and created more chances through Alajbegovic and Gatti. Spalletti brought on Boga and Cabal; the Old Lady controlled the game and had another great chance created by Kalulu, but the Bianconeri forwards failed to capitalize on it.

A heart-stopping finish: the Bianconeri made things difficult for themselves; in the 88th minute, Meerdink got his team back in the game by cutting the deficit in half off a cross from Dijkstra. In the 91st minute, De Wit scores to make it 2-2, but the goal is disallowed due to a previous offside by Meerdink. That’s how it ends: Juventus takes three precious points on the road and climbs among the top teams in the standings.

The standings after four matchdays: