Given the ongoing midfield injury crisis and valid concerns surrounding squad depth, Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti showed he still had a few tricks up his sleeve during Thursday night’s Europa League opener against Dutch side NEC Nijmegen to manage the roster constraints.
Spalletti rolled out a semi-unexpected 3-4-2-1 setup, handing Kamil Grabara a well-earned first start in goal. Pierre Kalulu slotted back into the defense as the right center-back, flanked by Federico Gatti in the middle and Jhon Lucumí on the left. Weston McKennie returned from injury and was deployed as the left wing-back, while Zeki Çelik shifted back to his more natural habitat on the right. With options in the middle of the park severely depleted, Douglas Luiz and Pape Matar Sarr formed the engine room behind a dynamic front three of Kerim Alajbegovic, Nico González, and Nick Woltemade.
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The match opened with an energetic, back-and-forth rhythm as both sides probed for early control, but it didn’t take long for Spalletti’s structural shift to pay dividends. The breakthrough came from the most direct route possible: Grabara launched a pinpoint long pass over the top that completely unnerved the NEC defense. A disastrous mistake from the NEC goalkeeper left González with the keys to the city, allowing the Argentine to calmly stroke the ball into an empty net to make it 1-0.
Just minutes later, Gatti offered his usual brand of main-event physical drama. In the 15th minute, NEC’s Bryan Linssen slapped the back of Gatti’s head, prompting the center-back — fresh off a booking for similar extracurriculars in his last outing — to immediately confront him. It was a classic display from a defender who truly is Chiellini with Bonucci‘s feet, though he must also have the brain and guile of Barzagli as he managed to walk away without a card.
Juve’s tactical fluidity quickly killed off any lingering edge from the hosts. In the 24th minute, Sarr spotted a surging off-ball run from McKennie and threaded a weighted through-ball down the left channel. McKennie intelligently laid the ball off into the path of Alajbegovic, who took two measured touches toward the edge of the box before slotting a cool strike past the keeper to double the cushion.
NEC’s afternoon went from bad to worse in the 31st minute when Aaron Bischoff was forced off with an injury, and Juventus wasted zero time twisting the knife. Just four minutes later, Nico González was chopped down inside the penalty area after carving his way into the box. Woltemade stepped up to the spot and casually dispatched the resulting penalty, ensuring all three starting forwards etched their names onto the scoresheet inside a dominant first 35 minutes.
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Fifteen minutes after the break, Spalletti opted for a triple change to manage legs without altering the functional shape. Bremer, Teun Koopmeiners, and Francisco Conceição entered for McKennie, Douglas Luiz, and Nico González, respectively. The structural chess match saw Kalulu slide out to right wing-back, Çelik cross over to the left flank, and Bremer take his familiar post as the central defender. Ten minutes later, Randal Kolo Muani replaced Alajbegovic, creating an intriguing dynamic upfront as he and Woltemade rotated roles — seamlessly taking turns leading the line and dropping deep between the lines to link play.
Just a few minutes after coming on, Kolo Muani had an impact. Lucumí carried the ball aggressively into the final third before laying it out wide to Kolo Muani on the left. The substitute cut decisively into the box and played an unselfish cutback into the path of Çelik, who tapped it home to put the finishing touches on a comprehensive afternoon.
Only five minutes after that, Lucumí capped off his sterling night by floating a long ball over the top. NEC’s keeper raced off his line to sweep it up, but misjudged the timing. Kolo Muani got to it first, knocked the ball around the stranded keeper, and casually carried it into the box to roll home the fifth.
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The 5-0 final score marked NEC’s heaviest defeat in European competition history, eclipsing a pair of previous 3-0 losses — including one suffered earlier in qualifying against Bodø/Glimt. For Juventus, the emphatic win tied their fifth-largest margin of victory in UEFA-recognized competitions, sitting just behind three 7-0 victories and a 6-0 rout. It was a dominant, professional display from a shorthanded squad that turned what could have been a tricky fixture into a triumphant walk in the park.
