Juventus Dominates NEC with 5–0 Victory in Europa League
NEC’s Europa League return lasted 90 bruising minutes in Turin. By the end, Dick Schreuder’s side had been picked apart, Juventus strolling to a 5–0 win that could easily have been worse.
This was supposed to be a statement night. Instead, it became a harsh lesson.
Early reprieve, instant punishment
With Gonzalo Crettaz suspended, Nikolas Polster was handed the gloves for NEC, protected by an experienced spine that included Tjaronn Chery, Dusan Tadic and Bryan Linssen. On the other side, Teun Koopmeiners started on the bench for Juventus, but the Italian giants never looked short of control.
They thought they were ahead inside three minutes. Federico Gatti bundled the ball in, only for the referee to rule it out for a foul on Polster. NEC escaped. Briefly.
The warning went unheeded. When Nicolás González burst through soon after, Polster charged out but completely misjudged the situation, flying past the ball and leaving González with an empty net. One touch, 1–0, and Juventus had their platform.
From there, the pressure tightened.
Long-range stunner and a spot-kick
Juventus began to toy with NEC, shifting the ball, waiting for gaps. Polster did well to claw away a close-range header from Nick Woltemade, but the next effort was unstoppable.
Kerim Alajbegovic stepped forward, found space, and unleashed a thunderous drive from distance. Polster could only watch as it flew past him for 2–0. The home crowd sensed NEC were there to be taken apart.
The third arrived from the spot. Almugera Kabar clipped González in the box, Woltemade took responsibility and calmly rolled in the penalty. 3–0, and NEC’s European evening was collapsing before half-time.
In the middle of that onslaught came another blow. Clement Bischoff pulled up with a hamstring problem and had to come off, Dennis Geiger thrown into the chaos earlier than planned.
NEC’s brief response
To their credit, NEC did not completely fold before the interval. They finally stitched together attacks of their own, pushing Juventus back for the first time.
Noé Lebreton forced Kamil Grabara into action, Kabar also denied by the Juventus goalkeeper, while Linssen snatched at a decent opening and fired over. Half-chances, not lifelines. The damage on the scoreboard remained heavy as they headed in at the break.
Second half drifts, then the final blows
After half-time, the game lost its edge. Juventus managed the tempo, content to keep NEC at arm’s length, the home side knocking the ball around with the calm of a team already sure of the result.
NEC could only threaten from distance. Geiger tried to drag his side forward, letting fly from range, but Grabara watched it all the way. There was no sustained pressure, no sense of a comeback brewing.
Just when the contest seemed to be drifting to a quiet close, Juventus decided to twist the knife.
Randal Kolo Muani, lively off the bench, broke down the right and cut the ball back into the box. Zeki Çelik arrived in stride and swept in the fourth, a simple finish to cap a slick move.
Moments later, Kolo Muani took centre stage himself. Slipped through on goal, he rounded the advancing Polster with ease and rolled in the fifth. NEC’s defence stood frozen; the scoreline told the story.
The whistle eventually came as a relief. For NEC, this was a brutal reintroduction to European football. The question now is how quickly Schreuder’s side can turn a painful opening night into fuel for the rest of their campaign.
