A brilliant individual performance from Randal Kolo Muani propelled a rotated Juventus to a hard-fought 2-1 victory over AZ Alkmaar at the AFAS Stadion on Thursday night. The French forward set up Teun Koopmeiners against his former club before doubling the lead himself, a valuable first-half lead that helped the Bianconeri withstand a late AZ rally and late VAR drama to hand the Dutch side their first European home defeat in 18 matches.
Luciano Spalletti set Juventus up in a fluid 3-4-3 formation, mirroring how the team finished their weekend fixture. Guglielmo Vicario anchored the goal behind a back three of Federico Gatti, Jhon Lucumí, and Lloyd Kelly. Pierre Kalulu and Andrea Cambiaso supplied width as wing-backs, with Pape Matar Sarr joining Teun Koopmeiners in the central midfield double pivot — setting up a head-to-head clash against his younger brother, Peer Koopmeiners. Kerim Alajbegović lined up on the left wing, Kolo Muani operated off the right, and Nick Woltemade spearheaded the attack as the central striker.
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After an open opening sequence where both sides saw early warning shots drift just wide, Juventus broke the deadlock in the 19th minute through a moment of individual brilliance. Kolo Muani showcased superb flair on the right flank, flicking a quick touch over his defender before charging into the final third. The French forward whipped a precise low cross to the edge of the box, where Teun Koopmeiners arrived right on cue to sweep home a clean first-time finish against his former team.
AZ Alkmaar responded by taking control of possession, forcing Vicario into an impressive diving save off a deflected long-range effort to keep Juve ahead. But the Bianconeri struck again in the 37th minute through their high press. Kolo Muani dispossessed an AZ defender high up the pitch, exchanged a clever dinked give-and-go over the defense with Woltemade, and drilled a precise left-footed strike into the far corner to take a 2-0 lead into halftime.
The second half proved to be a cagey defensive battle as Spalletti refreshed his side. AZ threw numbers forward and finally pulled one back in the 88th minute when Mexx Meerdink tapped in from close range following a cross from Elijah Dijkstra. Alkmaar thought they had snatched a dramatic equalizer in stoppage time when Mees de Wit poked in a rebound after Vicario saved a Meerdink header, but VAR intervened to rule the goal out for offside. Juventus managed the remaining stoppage-time minutes to lock down the 2-1 win.
The victory leaves Juventus in a strong position with 10 points from their first four Europa League matches, sitting 5th in the standings. Spalletti's men now turn their attention back to Serie A duty, traveling to face Lecce away this Sunday.
