Juventus advances in the Netherlands in a nail-biter: Kolo Muani scores the winner

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.