Juventus completed a remarkable comeback to beat Celta Vigo 2-1 on Spanish soil, with Nick Woltemade equalizing and Randal Kolo Muani scoring a stoppage-time winner. The result keeps Juventus perfect in the Europa League.
The Bianconeri arrived at Estadio Balaidos as Europa League leaders after a 5-0 win over NEC, but their Serie A form had dipped, with a 1-1 draw at Cagliari. Their injury crisis also continued, with Kenan Yildiz, Jeremie Boga, Khephren Thuram, Manuel Locatelli, Jeff Ekhator, Kamil Grabara and Arek Milik all unavailable. Celta Vigo lost their opening match to Omonia Nicosia and were missing Borja Iglesias, Pablo Duran, Jones El-Abdellaoui, Carl Starfelt and Miguel Roman.
A History Between the Sides
The last meeting between the clubs was an extraordinary encounter in March 2000 in the UEFA Cup Round of 16. Celta Vigo won 4-0 at home to overturn a 1-0 first-leg defeat, and both Antonio Conte and Paolo Montero were sent off in the first half.
Celta Take the Lead
Celta started sharply. An early header from Willot Swedberg was straight at Guglielmo Vicario, but the hosts broke the deadlock soon after with a well-worked team move. The ball moved from right to left before Swedberg laid it off for Hugo Alvarez, who tapped in at the back post in the 18th minute.
Juventus struggled to create clear chances in the opening half. Teun Koopmeiners headed straight at the goalkeeper, and a Pierre Kalulu pull-back from 10 yards went unconverted after Koopmeiners failed to control it. Woltemade blasted over after letting a long ball bounce in the box.
Woltemade Equalizes
Woltemade saw an effort charged down at the near post right after the restart. Celta keeper Radu then pushed a Francisco Conceicao strike over the bar, and Conceicao fired another attempt straight at him from the resulting corner.
Juventus drew level in the 58th minute. Koopmeiners whipped in a cross from the left, and Marcos Alonso clumsily chested it down, setting up Woltemade to sweep home from 12 yards.
Celta continued to threaten on the counter-attack. Rueda hit only the side-netting from a slide-rule pass by Jutgla, and Kalulu got back to block Jutgla. Later, Nico Gonzalez twisted and turned in the box before bending a left-footed effort inches wide.
Kolo Muani Completes the Turnaround
Juventus found the decisive goal deep into added time. Andrea Cambiaso swung in a cross from the left, and Kolo Muani got between defenders to nod home at the back post from point-blank range in the 91st minute.
The late winner gave Juventus a 2-1 victory in Vigo and a perfect Europa League record, while Celta Vigo were left to reflect on a late collapse.