Its all to play for in the second round of the knockout stages of the Europa League, as Juventus look for retribution after their sub-par Champions League campaign, whilst Nantes look to progress as they take the game to the Bianconeri back to the Beaujoire Stadium for the second leg.
Dusan Vlahovic's early goal separated the sides at the break after the hosts made a bright start to the game. Angel Di Maria had a positive influence in both halves, as he forced a good save out of Alban Lafont before Vlahovic fired the opener into the top corner.
Nantes settled into the second half and provided more of an attacking threat after Ludovic Blas’ thunderous strike got them back into the game. It appeared that Juventus could run away with all three points after a penalty shout in the dying moments of the game, but was voided by the referee.
-
Story of the Match
Massimiliano Allegri made only two changes to the team that defeated Fiorentina last weekend in Serie A.
Nicolo Fagioli and Leandro Paredes were introduced into the midfield, with Manuel Locatelli and Filip Kostic retiring to the bench.
Antoine Kombouare made four changes to the starting line-up from their recent Ligue 1 victory against Lorient.
Nicolas Pallois featured after returning from a knee injury, with Marcus Coco, Moussa Sissoko, and Mostafa Mohamed starting for the Canaries. Ignatius Ganago did not feature due to personal reasons, therefore Florent Mollet began on the bench.
Juventus maintained early possession well, with Nantes trying to press them high upfield. Di Maria made a bright start to the game after dribbling past two in midfield before driving further forward.
Di Maria’s influence continued, after switching the ball out to Federico Chiesa on the left, the winger made easy work out of Fabien Centonze and gifted the ball into the path of Vlahovic. The forward rifled his shot past the keeper into the far side of the net and took the lead in the 16th minute for Juventus.
The Canaries could not get a touch on the ball after the opening twenty minutes, as Juve knocked the ball around with ease, playing out from the back.
Any attempt made by Nantes was easily knocked away by the Juve defence, with a heavy touch from Mohamed being sent into Wojciech Szczesny's hands.
The game was paused in the 25th minute after Di Maria’s run led to him knocking into Andrei Girotto. His reaction forced the referee to stop the game for a few minutes so he could receive treatment, but play resumed as he was able to continue.
Juve continued to control the ball and they slowed the game down, patiently waiting for an opportunity to strike. After changing the tempo, it caught Nantes out - Vlahovic latched onto a deflected cross from Alex Sandro, but Lafont managed to get the ball away just out of his path.
Chiesa dropped his shoulder and cut inside from the left, but Jean-Charles Castelletto wasn’t going to let him pass. His cynical block earns him the first yellow of the game, in the 45+1st minute.
Nantes got the game back underway after the interval, but Juventus resumed their domination of the ball. Di Maria was able to try an effort from range after being given too much space but was easily handled by Lafont.
Chiesa went through the back of Castelletto as a return for the defender's previous tackle. He holds his hands up in apology but the referee pulled out a yellow card for his troubles and went into the book early in the second half.
Mohamed joins Chiesa not long after, as the referee booked him for dissent after he argued his case against a challenge from Gleison Bremer.
Juventus and Allegri were stunned after a devastating counter-attack from Nantes brought them back into the game, with an equaliser from Blas in the 60th minute.
His thunderous strike rattled the net after being sent through on goal by Mohamed, and Bremer's slip was costly as it opens up the space needed for his shot to reach the top corner.
Nantes had been relatively quiet on the attacking front and needed to show more threat on goal but their equaliser ruined Juventus’ record after they won their last three on the bounce without conceding.
Zebre looked to respond quickly and Di Maria slots it to Chiesa on the left of the box. His quick shot took a deflection which rattled the bar and then bounced off the line.
Juventus were the first to make a double substitution, with Kostic and Locatelli making an appearance for Nicolo Fagioli and Paredes.
Another double substitution for Juventus in the 73rd minute after they introduced Juan Cuadrado for Mattia De Sciglio and Matias Soule for Di Maria, in order to inject some fresh legs into the game and achieve a winning goal.
Danilo presented to the referee throughout the game that he was second to reach the ball and caught Coco late after the winger beats him, which earned him a yellow card.
Nantes induct a triple substitution of attacking players, as Florent Mollet came on for Pedro Chirivella, Charles Traore was brought on for Coco and Mohamed made way for Moses Simon in the 77th minute.
Nantes broke again on a counter with Traore hoping to repeat Blas’s threat, but the fullback couldn’t get the ball out of his feet. Their final substitutions came in the 83rd and 88th minute, introducing Sebastien Corchia for Nicolas Pallois and Evann Guessand for Castelletto.
Corchia got straight into the action and saw yellow 8 minutes after appearing off the bench. He prompted the referee to show his cards after catching Cuadrado late.
Juventus piled on the pressure late into the game and shocked Nantes with threatening chances. Their last chance saw Cuadrado whip a cross into the far post, with Bremer rising just in front of Locatelli to meet it at close range, but his effort is deflected wide.
The game paused after VAR noticed a handball in the clash between Bremer and Girotto. The ball is seen to hit the defender’s hand, but the referee does not caution the player or call for a penalty, as he believed Bremer committed a foul, voiding the handball, in the final minutes of the game.
Player of the Match - Alban Lefont
Whilst Di Maria pulled the strings tonight against Nantes, the goalkeeping performance from Lafont should not go unnoticed.
Nantes were not up to scratch in the first half, but the captain's performance kept them in the game, as his saves prevented Juventus from capitalising on their chances.
The French goalkeeper made six vital saves and in the return fixture at their home stadium, Nantes should look to bring more of a threat to Juve as they falter in the Europa League.
