How Nico Gonzalez & Kenan Yildiz Wowed On UCL Debuts

Juventus have begun brightly under new boss Thiago Motta, but there was little doubt that Tuesday evening’s UEFA Champions League clash with PSV Eindhoven was going to be a major focal point.

After a bright start to the domestic campaign saw the Turin giants beat both Como and Hellas Verona by the same 3-0 scoreline, Juve have undoubtedly stumbled since, held to 0-0 draws by AS Roma and Empoli.

Factor in that the Bianconeri had missed out on Europe’s elite competition altogether last term and crashed out in the group stage in 2022/23, and this first fixture was always going to garner attention.

New Look Juventus

With almost two years since their last appearance in the competition, it is a vastly different Juve team to the one which lost each of their last three Group Stage games. Eleven of the squad named by Motta had never appeared in the Champions League, with the Coach making his debut on the bench too.

PSV arrived in great form too, the Dutch side having won all five of their domestic games to start the season, out-scoring their opponents by 20 goals to three along the way. However, despite good early efforts from Joey Veerman and Guus Til, they would quickly find themselves overwhelmed in Turin.

Juve slowly began to grasp control of the game, but it would be a moment of individual brilliance from Kenan Yildiz that broke the deadlock. The Turkey international has been given the no.10 shirt previously worn by Alessandro Del Piero, and on Tuesday night he scored a goal worthy of the Bianconeri icon.

Kenan Yildiz wows the Turin crowd

Cutting in from the left, Yildiz curled a stunning right-footed effort into the far top corner, leaving the PSV goalkeeper no chance. He wheeled away mimicking the celebration of his idol, and his goal saw him break Del Piero’s record as the youngest Juve player to score in the Champions League at 19 years and 136 days.

It would be 2-0 just minutes later as a superb ball from Nico Gonzalez found Weston McKennie in open space just eight yards out, the US international finishing comfortably to mark his first start of the season.

The half time interval would allow PSV some respite, but the Bianconeri continued where they had left off after the break as Teun Koopmeiners and Vlahovic combined to allow Gonzalez to add a third.

With a three-goal lead after just 52 minutes of action, Juve were firmly in control and would manage the remainder of the game, killing off any hope of a comeback even if PSV did eventually score with the last kick of the game.

Nico Gonzalez shines brightest

There were no shortage of excellent performances for the Italian side, with Andrea Cambiaso once again superb at left back, while Teun Koopmeiners was a constant source of creativity.

Indeed, the Dutch midfielder laid on no fewer than six clear scoring opportunities for his team-mates, including one that put Vlahovic clean through on goal. Yet Koopmeiners and perhaps even Yildiz could have no argument against Nico Gonzalez being named Man of the Match here.

The Argentinian winger showed exactly why Juve brought him to the club this summer, his combination of speed, skill and strength leaving PSV defenders chasing shadows as he methodically picked them apart.

A goal and an assist were just rewards for a stellar performance that saw him lay on two other fine scoring opportunities as well as doing some good work defensively, particularly at set pieces.

There is undoubtedly more to come from this Juve side too, with Motta demanding greater focus when his team lose the ball. “I think today, during most of the game, we could do better when our opponents had possession,” the coach told Sky Italia.

“We did well at times but not during the whole game. We must raise the bar and be more consistent”

That will be particularly important this weekend, when table-topping Napoli visit Juventus Stadium in a game that will tell us plenty about where both teams truly stand at this early point of the season.