NEC’s Europa League Debut Ends in 5-0 Loss to Juventus

NEC’s Europa League campaign began with a brutal reality check in Turin. Dick Schreuder’s side were taken apart 5-0 by Juventus on Thursday night, a scoreline that reflected both the Italian club’s ruthlessness and the visitors’ vulnerability on the big stage.

Early Chaos, Early Damage

With first-choice goalkeeper Gonzalo Crettaz suspended, the spotlight fell on Nikolas Polster. In front of him, Schreuder leaned on experience: Tjaronn Chery, Dusan Tadic and Bryan Linssen all started, tasked with calming what was always going to be a volatile evening. For Juventus, Teun Koopmeiners waited on the bench.

Any hope NEC had of easing into the contest vanished almost immediately.

Inside three minutes, Federico Gatti thought he had already opened the scoring, only for his effort to be ruled out for a foul on Polster. It felt like a reprieve. It wasn’t.

Moments later, Nicolás González burst clear. Polster charged from his line, misjudged everything, and completely missed the ball. González didn’t. A simple tap-in, 1-0, and NEC were already chasing shadows in Turin.

Juventus Turn the Screw

From there, the pressure built relentlessly.

Polster briefly steadied himself with a good save from a Nick Woltemade header, but the next strike left him helpless. Kerim Alajbegovic stepped up from distance and ripped a long-range rocket into the net for 2-0, a goal that underlined the gulf in confidence and quality.

NEC’s night then got worse.

Almugera Kabar clipped González in the box, the referee pointed straight to the spot, and Woltemade calmly converted to make it 3-0. Juventus were cruising; NEC were reeling.

Between those two Juventus goals, Schreuder had to deal with another setback. Clement Bischoff pulled up with a hamstring problem and was forced off, with Dennis Geiger thrown into the fray far earlier than planned.

Flickers of Resistance

To their credit, NEC did not completely fold before the interval.

Noé Lebreton tested Kamil Grabara, Kabar also saw an effort blocked by the Juventus goalkeeper, and Linssen fired over from a promising position. Half-chances, nothing more, but at least signs of life against a side that had already shifted down a gear.

By half-time, though, the contest felt decided. NEC needed a miracle; Juventus only needed concentration.

Second Half Drifts Away

After the break, the game lost its edge. Juventus managed the tempo, happy to hold what they had. NEC saw more of the ball, but rarely did anything sharp with it.

Their only real moment of note came from Geiger, who tried his luck from range, forcing Grabara into action again. It was ambitious, and it said everything that a speculative shot from distance was NEC’s most dangerous weapon.

The Italian side, content for long stretches, simply waited for the next opening.

Late Goals Seal the Rout

When it came, the dam burst again.

In the final quarter of an hour, Randal Kolo Muani sprang into life. First, he got to the byline and cut the ball back perfectly for Zeki Çelik, who swept in the fourth goal to deepen NEC’s misery.

Moments later, Kolo Muani took centre stage himself. Slipped through on goal, he rounded the advancing Polster with ease and rolled the ball into an empty net for 5-0. No drama, no doubt, just a clinical finish to a one-sided night.

That was the final act. No late consolation, no softening of the blow. NEC leave Turin with a heavy defeat, a damaged goal difference, and a harsh lesson in what Europa League nights can look like against this calibre of opponent.

The campaign has only just begun, but after an opening like this, how quickly can Schreuder’s side show they belong at this level?