NEC Faces Heavy Defeat Against Juventus in Europa League
NEC’s return to European competition began with a nightmare in Turin. Dick Schreuder’s side were taken apart 5-0 by Juventus on Thursday night, a harsh welcome to the Europa League and a scoreline that could easily haunt them for weeks.
There was disruption before a ball had even been kicked. With Gonzalo Crettaz suspended, Nikolas Polster was handed the gloves for NEC. In front of him, Schreuder went with experience: Tjaronn Chery, Dusan Tadic and Bryan Linssen all started, a spine built for composure on a big stage. On the other side, Teun Koopmeiners had to settle for a place on the Juventus bench.
Early reprieve, then chaos
NEC’s hopes almost collapsed inside three minutes. Federico Gatti bundled the ball in and Juventus were already celebrating, only for the referee to rule it out for a foul on Polster. A warning, loud and clear.
NEC didn’t heed it.
Moments later, Nicolás González burst through the heart of their defence. Polster charged out, misjudged everything and swung at thin air. González didn’t need a second invitation. He rolled the ball into an empty net for 1-0, and the tone of the evening was set.
Juventus sensed fragility and went for the throat.
Polster briefly held the line, reacting sharply to keep out a close-range header from Nick Woltemade. It didn’t last. Kerim Alajbegovic picked up the ball from distance, took aim, and ripped a stunning long-range strike into the net for 2-0. Polster could only watch.
The pressure finally broke NEC’s resistance again. González, a constant menace, drew a foul from Almugera Kabar in the box. Woltemade stepped up, sent Polster the wrong way and buried the penalty for 3-0. Barely half an hour gone, and the contest already looked finished.
Injury blow adds to NEC misery
As if the scoreline wasn’t bad enough, NEC’s night worsened physically. Clement Bischoff pulled up with a hamstring problem and had to come off, with Dennis Geiger thrown into the fray earlier than planned. The change did little to alter the flow of the game, but NEC at least began to show some pride.
Before the interval, they finally carved out a few moments of promise. Noé Lebreton tested Kamil Grabara, who stood firm. Kabar also saw an effort beaten away by the Juventus goalkeeper, while Linssen snatched at a chance and fired over. Half-chances, nothing more, but at least signs of life after the early collapse.
Second half stalls, then Juve cut loose again
After the break, the tempo dropped. Juventus had the scoreline they wanted and started to manage the game, shifting the ball, taking the sting out of NEC’s attempts to respond. Schreuder’s side pushed higher, but genuine danger was rare.
Geiger tried to drag NEC forward, letting fly from distance with one of the few efforts that troubled Juventus at all in the second period. Grabara watched it all the way. The Italians looked comfortable, almost too comfortable, as if the game was drifting to a quiet close.
Then they decided to twist the knife.
In the final quarter of an hour, Randal Kolo Muani sprang into life. He drove to the byline and cut the ball back perfectly for Zeki Çelik, who arrived in space and swept home for 4-0. NEC’s defence, stretched and exhausted, had no answer.
Moments later, Kolo Muani took centre stage himself. Slipped through on goal, he accelerated clear, rounded the advancing Polster and tapped in Juventus’ fifth. Simple, ruthless, emphatic.
NEC were left chasing shadows and, ultimately, chasing damage limitation. The whistle finally came as a mercy.
A brutal lesson in Turin. Now Schreuder and his players have to decide whether this is a scar that lingers, or a sharp jolt that forces a reaction in the rest of their Europa League campaign.
