Randal Kolo Muani’s header in stoppage time secured victory for the Men's First Team in their away fixture against Celta Vigo on Matchday 2 of the UEFA Europa League group stage.
After Celta had taken the lead early on, goals from Nick Woltemade and then Kolo Muani in the second half sealed a 2–1 win for the Bianconeri in Vigo.
The first noteworthy chance came in the 12th minute and was created by Juventus. Pierre Kalulu, making his 100th appearance for Juventus this evening, played a long ball forward for Weston McKennie and after a favourable rebound, the ball fell to Federico Gatti, who struck it on the volley but sent it high over the crossbar.
The match remained evenly balanced until the 18th minute, when Celta broke the deadlock through Hugo Alvarez. Juventus’s response was not long in coming, as in the 28th minute, they had a chance to equalise through Woltemade, who capitalised on Kalulu’s run. The Frenchman crossed for Teun Koopmeiners, who took too long to control the ball as he ran onto it at the edge of the penalty area.
Towards the end of the half, Luciano Spalletti’s side pressed on in search of a goal, creating the best chance of the first half. Woltemade cleverly shook off his marker to latch onto a long ball from Guglielmo Vicario, got into the box and shot first time, but the ball flew over the crossbar.
The Bianconeri came out for the second half full of determination, with Chico Conceicao in particularly fine form. In the 52nd minute, the Portuguese winger first tried his luck with a dangerous left-footed shot from the edge of the box that forced the Celta goalkeeper into a save, and then, following the resulting corner, posed a threat once more with a central shot saved by Andrei Radu.
The team’s drive and persistence paid off in the 58th minute. Koopmeiners delivered a dangerous cross into the box and following an aerial deflection by Marcos Alonso, Woltemade pounced on the ball, showing excellent coordination to beat the home goalkeeper with a precise right-footed volley into the bottom left-hand corner.
Having equalised, it was Pape Matar Sarr’s turn in the 71st minute to cause the opposition problems with a shot that was saved by Radu. With four minutes of stoppage time remaining, Nico Gonzalez went it alone and came within a whisker of making it 2–1 with a curling left-footed shot from inside the penalty area that grazed the post.
Just when it looked as though the match was heading for a draw, however, it was Randal Kolo Muani who slipped past the Spanish defence in the six-yard box, capitalising on a perfect cross from Andrea Cambiaso and heading home in the 92nd minute to secure three points in Vigo.
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