Juventus Dominates NEC 5–0 in Europa League Debut
NEC’s return to European competition lasted 90 punishing minutes in Turin. By the end of it, Dick Schreuder’s side had been taken apart, 5–0, by a ruthless Juventus who barely needed to leave third gear to underline the gulf in class.
It was a night that began with a warning and quickly turned into a rout.
Early reprieve, early collapse
With Gonzalo Crettaz suspended, Nikolas Polster was handed the gloves for NEC, shielded by a starting XI full of experience and know‑how. Tjaronn Chery, Dušan Tadić, Bryan Linssen – familiar names, big careers, all trusted to steady the club on its Europa League bow. On the other side, Teun Koopmeiners started on the bench for Juventus, such was the depth at the home side’s disposal.
Within three minutes, NEC were hanging on.
Federico Gatti thought he had opened the scoring, bundling the ball in, only for the referee to rule it out for a foul on Polster. It felt like a reprieve. It wasn’t. It was a preview.
Juventus simply came again. And this time NEC’s goalkeeper blinked.
Nicolás González burst in behind, Polster charged from his line and got nowhere near the ball. González skipped past the mess and rolled it into an empty net. A gift, and a brutal way for NEC to concede their first goal of the group stage.
Juventus turn the screw
From that moment, the Italian side smelled weakness.
Polster briefly held the line, springing to his right to claw away a close‑range header from Nick Woltemade. It was a strong save, the kind that might have settled him. Instead, it only delayed the inevitable.
Kerim Alajbegovic stepped up from distance and ripped the game away.
Given space to set himself, he unleashed a vicious strike from range that tore past Polster for 2–0. No goalkeeper stops that. The shot flew like a statement: Juventus were done feeling their way into this tie.
NEC’s evening worsened off the ball as well as on it. Clement Bischoff pulled up with a hamstring problem and limped off, Dennis Geiger pressed into action far earlier than planned. Any semblance of Schreuder’s original plan went with him down the tunnel.
The pressure kept building, and this time it broke NEC inside their own box.
Almugera Kabar mistimed his challenge on González, the winger too sharp and too quick. Penalty. Woltemade stepped up and buried it for 3–0, the kind of calm, clinical finish that underlined just how comfortable Juventus already felt.
NEC’s flicker of resistance
For a brief spell before the break, NEC refused to fold.
Noé Lebreton wriggled into space and forced Kamil Grabara into action. Kabar, eager to atone for the penalty, drove forward and tested the Juventus keeper again. Linssen, usually so deadly in front of goal, leaned back and sent a presentable chance rising over the bar.
They were half‑chances, nothing more, but at least they offered a glimpse of NEC’s attacking intent. On another night, with more composure and less damage on the scoreboard, one of those efforts might have changed the mood.
Instead, half-time arrived with the tie already decided.
Game in cruise control
The second half opened at walking pace.
Juventus, three goals to the good, managed the game with a veteran’s calm. They recycled possession, slowed the tempo, and picked their moments to surge. NEC, chasing shadows for long stretches, only threatened when Geiger tried his luck from distance. His long‑range effort carried power, but not enough precision to trouble Grabara.
The match slipped into that familiar European pattern: one side protecting energy and rhythm for the weeks ahead, the other searching for pride in small wins – a tackle here, a passing move there, anything to take home.
Then, just as the contest seemed to be drifting, Juventus cut loose again.
Late flurry, heavy scoreline
The fourth arrived with the kind of simplicity that will irritate Schreuder when he revisits the footage.
Randal Kolo Muani broke free down the flank and picked his head up. His cut‑back found Zeki Çelik arriving in stride, and the full-back swept his finish past Polster for 4–0. It was clean, controlled, and far too easy.
NEC barely had time to reset before the fifth went in.
Kolo Muani, this time the finisher, sliced straight through the visiting defence. Polster came out to meet him, but the forward rounded him with ease and tapped in to complete the rout. One movement, one touch around the keeper, one final nudge over the line. 5–0, and any lingering doubt about the scale of the defeat vanished.
The whistle eventually brought relief more than anything else for NEC.
Their Europa League campaign is not defined by one brutal night in Turin, but it does set a harsh standard. The question now is simple: can Schreuder’s side turn this lesson into a response, or will Juventus’ five-goal statement echo through the rest of their European journey?
