Juventus sweeps Europa League: NEC stunned 5-0
Woltemade and Kolo Muani break through amidst Dutch blunders, Spalletti's satisfaction(Ansa photo)
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Juventus redeem themselves in Europe , the Bianconeri overwhelm a modest Nec and Spalletti can celebrate the first goals of his forwards. The 5-0 against the Dutch also saw the goals of Woltemade and Kolo Muani, in addition to the debuts of Alajbegovic and Celik and Nico Gonzalez who is becoming a certainty .
Spalletti made a bit of a revolution in goal, starting with Grabara making his Juventus debut. Gatti played alongside Lucumì, Sarr was chosen in midfield to act as a defensive block alongside Douglas Luiz, and McKennie returned. Up front, Nico Gonzalez and Alajbegovic supported lone striker Woltemade. Former Torino player Schuurs started on the bench for NEC, while coach Schreuder selected Tadic in attack, with the Linssen-Chery duo behind him. The defense was the Dutch team's weak point, and Juve were already ahead after eight minutes: on Grabara's long ball, Nico Gonzalez slipped into the visitors' defensive space and, after Polster's wild run, tapped in with an open goal. NEC tried to maneuver but found no space in the Juventus defense. In defense, they continued to concede, and Juve took advantage. Sarr plays a pass to McKennie, who runs past Nejasmic and passes to Alajbegovic, who scores the second goal with a powerful and precise right-footed shot. Spalletti's team doesn't let up and continues to exploit the Dutch mistakes: Alajbegovic plays it to Nico Gonzalez, who is beaten by Kabar, and the penalty is passed to Woltemade, who makes it three in just over half an hour.
Spalletti confirmed his starting eleven for the second half, with NEC immediately trying to score through Geiger, whose right-footed shot went just over. The Bianconeri's first moves were Bremer, Koopmeiners, and Conceicao, with McKennie, Douglas Luiz, and Nico Gonzalez making the only substitutions. In the final 20 minutes, Spalletti experimented with the Woltemade-Kolo Muani duo again. The Frenchman tried to break the deadlock, but he turned into an assist provider, leaving Schuurs behind and feeding Celik a pass to simply slot in. And, on a night when everyone scored, even Kolo Muani finally managed to celebrate the 5-0 final score, with goalkeeper Polster still unable to score.
A goal-fest was needed to restore confidence and self-esteem, now it's time to get back on track in the league : on Sunday, the game is once again at the Allianz Stadium, where former Sarri's Atalanta will arrive. It will be a decidedly tougher test for Juve, with Spalletti aiming to head into the long break with greater confidence.
"I'm very satisfied: the boys took to the field with clear ideas and turned their doubts after the defeat into decisions to make, and they chose well," the coach said after the match.
(Unioneonline)
