Nico González opens, Alajbegovic doubles, Woltemade caps with a penalty

Allianz Stadium hosts the opening matchday of the Europa League, with Juventus and NEC Nijmegen on the pitch, broadcast LIVE. In the 90th minute, Nico González exploits a long ball from Wojciech Grabara, beats goalkeeper Polster outside the area and volleys home, opening the scoring.

First half dominated by Juventus

In the 24th minute, Kerim Alajbegović doubles the lead with a long‑range right‑footed shot, set up by a vertical pass from Douglas Luiz. In the 35th minute, GOAL by Nick Woltemade converts a penalty with a curled shot, closing the first half at 3‑0. The result confirms Juventus' supremacy in the first half.

Wojciech Grabara proves decisive in defense, denying Kabar's shot in the 43rd minute. Three minutes earlier, in the 38th minute, he blocks Thomas's attempt. In the 17th minute, he neutralizes a diagonal pass from Lebreton, preventing further danger.

The Juventus lineup starts with Grabara between the posts, Kalulu, Gatti and Lucumí in defense, and a 3‑4‑2‑1 attack led by González, Alajbegović and Woltemade. NEC Nijmegen fields Polster in goal, with Kabar, Thomas and Lebreton in midfield, and Linssen and Tadic up front.

The referee is Oleksii Derevinskyi of Ukraine, assisted by Oleksii Myronov and Dmytro Zaporozhenko, with Klym Zabroda as the fourth official. VAR is managed by Denys Shurman and Stuart Attwell.

Juventus is looking to bounce back after the loss to Sassuolo last Sunday. The next Serie A fixture will be against Atalanta, before the international break. In the Europa League, the team will face Celta Vigo, Rennes, AZ Alkmaar and other opponents in the group stage.

Injuries and absences

Among the Juventus players, Yildiz, Locatelli, Cabal and Boga are unavailable, while Rugani, Thuram, Zhegrova, Ekhator and Milik are excluded from the UEFA list. NEC loses Fonville, Kaplan and Emre Mor, as well as goalkeeper Crettaz, and has excluded Entius, Hansen‑Aaroen, Moslih and Tahaui.

Midfielder Tadic, who eliminated Juventus in the 2019 Champions League with Ajax, is in the starting XI for NEC. On the bench, Bram Nuytinck and Perr Schuurs are available, the latter having scored on August 29 in the Eredivisie after a serious knee injury.

With three points at rest, Juventus starts with a clear advantage in the Europa League group. The result puts pressure on the group rivals, who will have to respond in the upcoming matches.