In a match that could signal a turnaround for Juventus while deepening Manchester City’s woes, the Bianconeri clinched a 2-0 victory at home, thanks to goals from Dusan Vlahovic and Weston McKennie.
Both teams entered the contest with eight points in the Champions League and have been struggling in their domestic leagues, setting the stage for a high-stakes encounter at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.
Juventus, missing key players like Andrea Cambiaso, Nico Gonzalez, Arek Milik, Gleison Bremer, and Juan Cabal, welcomed back Weston McKennie and Douglas Luiz to the bench.
On the other side, Manchester City were without Mateo Kovacic, Nathan Aké, Oscar Bobb, and Rodri, with John Stones, Manuel Akanji, and Phil Foden also not at full fitness.
The game was a slow burner, with the first significant chance not coming until the 20th minute when Kenan Yildiz unleashed a powerful shot from distance that narrowly missed the target.
Manchester City had their moments, with Kevin De Bruyne setting up Erling Haaland, who unfortunately scuffed his shot directly at Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio.
A few minutes later, Haaland had another opportunity, this time trying to chip Di Gregorio from a De Bruyne pass, but the keeper made a crucial save.
The deadlock was broken in the 53rd minute by Juventus. Federico Gatti’s acrobatic effort was parried by Ederson, only for the ball to find its way to Vlahovic via a Kenan Yildiz cross, who headed it into the net from point-blank range.
Juventus’ lead was doubled on the 75th minute in a move orchestrated by the American duo of McKennie and Tim Weah.
McKennie started the counter-attack from midfield, finding Weah on the right. After a failed first attempt at a cross, Weah managed to deliver the ball for McKennie to execute a spectacular scissor-kick volley into the net.
Match Stats
Goals: Vlahovic (53′), McKennie (75′)
Assists: Yildiz (53′), Weah (75′)
Yellow Cards: Jack Grealish (84′, MCI), Michele Di Gregorio (85′, JUV), Bernardo Silva (86′, MCI)
Juventus Player Ratings
Di Gregorio (8); Savona (6.5), Gatti (7), Kalulu (6.5), Danilo (6.5); Thuram (6), Locatelli (8.5), Koopmeiners (6.5); Conceição (6), Vlahovic (7.5), Yıldız (7). Subs: McKennie (6.5), Weah (6.5), Douglas Luiz (-), Mbangula (-).
What’s Next?
Juventus now sits 14th with 11 points in the Champions League standings, bolstering their chances for a spot in the knockout stages as they are now only two points from 8th. Their next match is against Venezia away in Serie A.
Manchester City now sits 22th with 8 points, still in the mix but with their qualification hopes now more uncertain. Their next challenge is the Manchester Derby against Manchester United in the Premier League.
