Juventus steal a point in wild UCL opener with Borussia Dortmund

Most Juventus fans didn’t think Dusan Vlahovic to be on the team at this point in the year. He was supposed to have left in the summer as his contract wound down.

Most Juve fans were praying that Lloyd Kelly wouldn’t be on the team at this point in the year. His horrible half-year stint in Turin after being acquired in January—especially considering how Dean Huijsen’s career exploded at the same time—had become a symbol of the mistakes made Cristiano Giuntoli during the ill-fated 2024-25 season.

And yet, here they are, looming as heroes after Juve played their second instant classic in four days. Vlahovic was magnificent off the bench, scoring twice and assisting the last-second equalizer in the wild 4-4 draw with Borussia Dortmund at the J Stadium. That beneficiary of that assist was Kelly, whose diving header salvaged a point with his second goal in two games.

To be clear, there was definitely a lot of ugly for Juve on the night. After a stellar display in the first half that saw Dortmund fail to put a shot on target, the defense crumbled in the second. They continued to allow far too many uncontested long-range shots, which again bit them in the rear on two of Dortmund’s four goals. It didn’t help that Michele Di Gregorio had a shocking night in goal, making multiple uncharacteristic mistakes.

But if there’s one major takeaway to this match, it’s that the Bianconeri have turned the corner in terms of mentality. Plunk this game into the schedule in any season from 2021-22 through to last year, and BVB’s unexpected opening goal would likely have seen the team check out mentally. Rather than shrinking in front of adversity, they’re responding to it with the kind of Fino alla Fine spirit that we as Juventini expect from those who wear this shirt.

That’s a testament to Igor Tudor. Now, of course, his job is to ensure it doesn’t come to that point in the first place.

Tudor was still missing Fabio Miretti and Arkadiusz Milik, but Francisco Conceição and Edon Zhegrova were fit enough to make the bench. The Croatian put forward his usual 3-4-2-1 setup. Di Gregorio was fronted by Pierre Kalulu, Bremer, and Kelly. Andrea Cambiaso made his first club appearance since his red card in the Serie A opener, starting on the left wing opposite Weston McKennie. Teun Koopmeiners joined Khéphren Thuram in midfield. Kenan Yildiz and Jonathan David played in the hole, while Loïs Openda got his first Juventus start.

Tudor was opposed by his former national team teammate Niko Kovac. He had a much longer injured list, headlined by former Juve midfielder Emre Can. Fabio Silva, Niklas Süle, Nico Schlotterbeck, Aaron Anselmino, and Julien Duranville. Kovac countered his countryman with his own 3-4-2-1. Gregor Kobel started in goal, with Ramy Bensebaini, Waldemar Anton, and Julian Ryerson arrayed in front of him. Yan Couto and Daniel Svensson manned the wing-back spots, flanking the double pivot of Marcel Sabitzer and Felix Nmecha. Long-rumored Juve transfer target Karim Adeyemi teamed with Maximilian Beier to support Serhou Guirassy in attack.

The first half saw relatively little serious action. Dortmund had significantly more possession early, but it was Juve who were creating the opportunities. Thuram nearly lit things up early when he was afforded the space to load up and fire from distance in the fourth minute. His shot was bending inside and would have either smacked the post or snuck in just inside it, but Kobel pushed it around the post on the dive to be certain it was neither. Openda nearly opened his Juve account with an audacious flick at the near post from a corner, but only hit the side netting. Openda forced another save out of Kobel late in the period when his cross aimed at David was sent right back to him, prompting him to send his second effort on goal instead. The Swiss keeper stopped the tightly-angled drive at the bottom corner of the near post.

The early moments of the second half looked like it was going to be an identical rhythm, but six minutes into the period Dortmund had their first true chance of the night. Beier chased after a long ball and tipped it around an onrushing Di Gregorio from a tight angle, bonking the ball off the post.

Less than 60 seconds later they had the lead.

Adeyemi was the one who converted, taking a quick pass from Guirassy, clearing his shooting lange with one touch and firing it across the grain past Di Gregorio, who was slow to react. Perhaps he hadn’t seen it in time, perhaps it was just a bad reaction, but the ball flew across him and into the net, opening the scoring deeply against the run of play.

Giurassy nearly doubled the lead moments later when Adeyemi fired ball through the middle of a crowd to set him up point-blank, but Di Gregorio this time made a fine reaction save to keep the deficit at one. Beier was set up almost 60 seconds later but fired wide, leaving Juve wobbling precariously in a game they looked like they had been in control of only five minutes before.

A minute later it seemed certain Juve would equalize, but Koopmeiners was put into a great spot by Openda only to completely shank his attempt at the top far corner when the goal was practically inviting him to score. The score was indeed even a few minutes later when Yildiz drifted inside and unleashed a ballooning curler of a strike from above the left channel that flew into the top far corner. It was a carbon copy of some of Alessandro Del Piero’s best work, and gave the stadium a new reason to roar after the sobering blow of the opener.

For a few seconds, at least.

Dortmund had the all in the Di Gregorio’s net in seconds. Adeyemi was provider this time, laying the ball back for Nmecha, who shot from the top of the penalty arc and bent it inside the post and past a flying Di Gregorio. But that lead only lasted all of two minutes, at which point Yildiz turned provider and slipped the newly-introduced Vlahovic through the middle fora right-footed finish that swept past the face of Kobel.

But the rapid-fire scoring continued. Couto was the source of the grief this time when he took the ball after Sabitzer dispossessed Thuram right in front of the box. This goal was almost entirely on Di Gregorio, who somehow allowed the low shot to flash under him at the near post.

Six minutes later it looked like Yildiz had restored parity again, but Kobel denied him, catching the ball with a flying hand and just barely redirecting it onto the post. It looked an even bigger save a few minutes later when Guirassy’s shot looked to strike Kelly’s arm as he slid in to try to block the shot. French referee Francois Letexier immediately pointed to the spot, then confirmed the call after a lengthy VAR check. After some intense argument among the Dortmund players, Bensebaini finally took control of the ball and stroked the ball home, giving lover Dortmund some breathing room.

It looked for all the world like Juve were about to drop the game in front of their home fans, and as the clock ticked into stoppage time the situation looked bleak. But in the fourth minute of added time Kalulu stepped in front of a pass and whipped the ball into the box, where Vlahovic took it on a hop and bopped it in off the near post to give Juve some flicker of life.

That flicker turned into a flame 120 seconds or so later. Vlahoic was the provider this time, floating the ball perfectly into the path of Kelly’s diagonal run for him to hit a diving header back against the grain. Another lengthy VAR check confirmed the results, tying the game with what proved to be its last action.

MICHELE DI GREGORIO - 4.5. Gets some credit for that insane save against Guirassi, but he should’ve done better with at least a few of Dortmund’s goals, especially the one that Couto scored at the near post.

PIERRE KALULU - 6. Good interception and then cross for the assist on Vlahovic’s second, he joined the attack as much as he could and registered a pair of tackles, an interception, and two clearances.

BREMER - 5.5. Looked like he was a tad slow to the ball at times today. Perhaps a bit of rest is needed as he gets himself back to truly full fitness.

LLOYD KELLY - 6.5. That finish was beautiful, and his defense was good today too, making seven clearances.

WESTON McKENNIE - 5.5. Made a few good plays defensively, but wasn’t much of a factor going forward.

TEUN KOOPMEINERS - 4. Laid a complete egg on what should’ve been the first equalizer. Slightly more effective than last week, but that wasn’t saying much.

KHÉPHREN THURAM - 5.5. Two key passes, but he was caught in possession on Dortmund’s third goal.

ANDREA CAMBIASO - 6. Looked dangerous coming off the left wing, making two key passes and a pair of tackles while completing 95.7 percent of his passes.

JONATHAN DAVID - 5.5. The flashes of chemistry between himself, Yildiz, and Openda are there, but need time to develop.

KENAN YILDIZ - 8. An absolutely gorgeous goal was followed up to an equally impressive assist. He makes this team go right now, as evidenced by the fact he was the only starter to complete a dribble (he had four). He is about to break into the true superstar category.

LOÏS OPENDA - 6. Looked lively from the striker position and showed some impressive vision as well, attempting a couple of really good passes that were shut off by the defense just before they got to the target.

DUSAN VLAHOVIC - 9. This is what we expected from Vlahovic for his entire Juventus tenure. Both of his goals were taken superbly, and his feathery assist sealed the draw. How confident is he right now? Look at the tape: he didn’t try to move the ball onto his stronger left foot in a Superman weird.

JOAO MARIO - 6. Made two key passes, including the assist on Yildiz’s goal. Provided a great push on that side of the field.

MANUEL LOCATELLI - 6. Made a pair of tackles and completed all four of his long balls after replacing an ineffectual Koopmeiners.

VASILIJE ADZIC - 5.5. Didn’t conjure any magic this time, though he made some good runs off the ball.

EDON ZHEGROVA - NR. What looked like a quick cameo debut turned into something important by the end. Showed a degree of shiftiness and vision, trying to squeeze some passes

Tudor’s sub management was a lot better today, in particular with timing. He got Vlahovic and Joao Mario on just before the hour mark as opposed to Saturday, when he waited until there was less than 20 minutes to go before his first subs. The rest of the changes also made a lot of sense, and tended to make things on the field a little better.

The decision to start the front three of Yildiz, David, and Openda didn’t pay dividends in this game, but I think it’s a combination that needs more testing, because the three are talented pieces whose skill sets can very much dovetail together. Some other decisions in the XI, though, need some evaluating—namely Koopmeiners, who simply isn’t justifying his inclusion right now.

But if there’s one coaching issue that seriously needs addressing, it’s the concession of all these long-range shots. It was a huge problem against Inter, and there wasn’t any serious progress made today. Nmecha and Couto were both relatively unchallenged when they took their shots, and if Juve’s midfielders can’t start closing these guys down at the top of the box, these goals will keep happening. There were only three days between Inter and Dortmund, but Tudor needs to coach this up, because it’s turning into an early weakness.

Juve will take on Hellas Verona on the road on Saturday, before coming home to face Atalanta a week later.

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