Juventus Win 2-1 at Celta Vigo as Kolo Muani Heads Home in Stoppage Time
SportSignals Match Desk · Football analysis desk ·
Right. Let's be straight about what happened here. Celta Vigo went into this match with three losses from three in the UEFA Europa League. Seven goals conceded, one scored. And still they found a way to make it competitive until the very end. That tells you something about the basics of football. You can be poor and still be awkward. Juventus had to work for this one. They got there in the end, and that is what separates the sides that know how to compete from the ones that just turn up.
Celta Draw First Blood But the Warning Signs Were There
Hugo Álvarez put Celta Vigo ahead on 18 minutes, right foot, with Williot Swedberg picking up the assist. Credit where it is due. Celta came out with something to prove at home and they pressed Juventus early. Forty-seven percent possession for the home side across the night tells you they were not just sitting back and hoping.
The thing is, the stats tell the real story underneath that goal. Juventus had 22 shots total to Celta's nine. Seventeen of Juventus's shots came from inside the box. Celta managed five from inside the box all night. You do not win football matches with those numbers. You might nick a goal on the break, which is exactly what Celta did, but you cannot hold on against a side with 17 key passes and seven corners pressing for the equaliser.
Williot Swedberg picked up a yellow card on 39 minutes for a foul and was then substituted off on 62 minutes. Whether that was always the plan or whether the card forced the hand, I cannot say. But Celta lost one of their more active players in the first half of the second half, and they paid for it.
Woltemade Brings Juventus Level and the Tide Turns
Nick Woltemade equalised on 58 minutes, a right foot shot that put Juventus back on level terms. From that point on, there was only one team winning this match. Juventus had 63 dangerous attacks to Celta's 35. Their crossing was twice as accurate, five successful crosses to Celta's three. They hit the woodwork once. They created three big chances to Celta's two.
Listen, Celta's goalkeeper worked. Four saves from the home side's keeper against just one from the Juventus goalkeeper. That number alone tells you which end of the pitch the action was concentrated in during the second half. Celta were hanging on. That is not a criticism of their desire on the night, but it is the reality of their situation in this competition.
Lloyd Kelly picked up a yellow card on 54 minutes, and Juventus brought on Bremer and Jhon Lucumí at the 70 minute mark to shore things up at the back. Lucumí promptly picked up a yellow card himself two minutes later, which is not ideal management of a substitution. Standards have to be higher than that. You come on to add composure, not to give away fouls inside the first two minutes.
The Winning Moment and What It Says About Juventus
Randal Kolo Muani headed home on 90 plus 2 minutes, assisted by Andrea Cambiaso, to win it for Juventus. He had come on as a substitute at 64 minutes. A substitute winning the match with a header in stoppage time. That is a squad with depth and desire. That is accountability from a player who comes on and delivers when it matters.
The thing is, Juventus's only prior Europa League result in this sample was a 5-0 win over NEC Nijmegen. One completed match, one clean sheet, five goals. You cannot read too much into a sample of one, but the attitude was there again tonight. They came behind, they kept pressing, they had more shots, more dangerous attacks, more crosses into the box, and they won it at the death. That is what good sides do.
Celta Vigo: Three Losses from Three and the Numbers Are Damning
Three completed Europa League matches. Three losses. One goal scored, seven conceded. Celta lost to SC Freiburg twice before this fixture, Freiburg winning 3-1 and 3-0 in those two matches, and they lost to Omonia Nicosia 1-0 before that. Now this. A home defeat to Juventus despite taking the lead.
Celta had three injuries listed coming into this match, including two rated as moderate severity. That does not excuse the Europa League record. You cannot keep shipping goals in this competition and blame the treatment table. The basics are not there. The defensive organisation is not there. You give up 22 shots in a home match and you are not competing at the required level. End of.
Iago Aspas came on at 75 minutes, a sign of desperation more than design. When you bring your most experienced player on with fifteen minutes to go chasing an equaliser you never looked like scoring, something has gone wrong long before that substitution.
The Verdict
Juventus were the better side for the vast majority of this match. Six shots on target to two. Seventeen inside the box attempts to five. They were more dangerous, more clinical when it mattered, and they had the composure to win it when the clock was against them.
Celta showed moments. Hugo Álvarez's early goal was a good finish and Celta competed physically, winning 48 duels to Juventus's 46. But desire without execution is just effort. And effort without results means nothing in a results business.
Juventus take the three points. Celta are in serious trouble in this competition. Three losses from three does not leave you much room. Their Europa League record needs to change immediately or they will be out before most people have noticed they were ever in.
