Juventus Dominates NEC in Europa League Opener
NEC’s return to European competition lasted 90 brutal minutes in Turin. Dick Schreuder’s side were taken apart by a clinical Juventus, who ran out 5-0 winners and could easily have had more.
It started chaotically for the visitors and never really settled.
With Gonzalo Crettaz suspended, Nikolas Polster was handed the gloves for NEC, protected by a side packed with experience. Tjaronn Chery, Dusan Tadic and Bryan Linssen all started, a spine built for composure on big nights. On the other bench, Teun Koopmeiners had to wait for his chance, named among the Juventus substitutes.
Juventus needed barely three minutes to make their intent clear. Federico Gatti thought he had opened the scoring, only for his effort to be ruled out for a foul on Polster. A reprieve for NEC, but only on the scoreboard.
The warning went unheeded.
Nicolás González burst through soon after, Polster charged from his line and misjudged everything. He completely missed the ball, leaving González to roll in the easiest of finishes for 1-0. From there, the pressure only intensified.
Juventus began to swarm. Polster briefly stood firm, clawing away a header from Nick Woltemade, but the next strike left him helpless. Kerim Alajbegovic stepped up from distance and detonated a long-range rocket into the net for 2-0, a goal that underlined the gulf in confidence and quality.
NEC’s night then took another turn for the worse. Clement Bischoff pulled up with a hamstring problem and had to be replaced by Dennis Geiger, disrupting an already stretched midfield.
The punishment on the scoreboard continued. Almugera Kabar clipped González in the box, and the referee pointed to the spot. Woltemade took responsibility and calmly made it 3-0, hammering home Juventus’ dominance before the interval.
To their credit, NEC did not completely fold. Before half-time, they carved out a handful of chances that at least asked questions of Kamil Grabara. Noé Lebreton saw an effort beaten away, Kabar also forced a save, and Linssen lashed a shot over when well placed. Half-chances, though, not lifelines.
The second half opened in a lower gear. Juventus controlled the tempo, content to recycle possession and manage the game. NEC saw more of the ball but rarely threatened; their only real moment of note came from a long-range strike by Geiger that failed to seriously trouble Grabara.
Just as the contest seemed to be drifting to a quiet conclusion, Juventus twisted the knife.
In the final quarter of an hour, Randal Kolo Muani came to life. First, he broke down the right and cut the ball back perfectly for Zeki Çelik, who arrived unmarked to sweep in the fourth. NEC’s defence, already stretched, simply couldn’t reset.
Moments later, Kolo Muani claimed a goal of his own. Slipped through on goal, he rounded the advancing Polster with ease and tapped into an empty net for 5-0, a finish that summed up Juventus’ authority and NEC’s unraveling.
The whistle finally came as a relief for Schreuder’s side. A harsh lesson in Turin, a brutal reminder of Europa League standards — and a mountain to climb if NEC are to turn this campaign into anything more than a painful memory.
