Building on the structural framework from their recent Europa League outing, Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti once again fielded a 3-4-2-1 setup to navigate ongoing roster constraints, though with several personnel adjustments. Guglielmo Vicario took his spot between the posts, shielded by a back three of Pierre Kalulu, Federico Gatti, and Lloyd Kelly, with the Englishman filling in on the left of the trio. Cambiaso returned on the left wing-back flank while Weston McKennie shifted over to the right,
sandwiching a central pairing of Teun Koopmeiners and Pape Matar Sarr. Up front, Kerim Alajbegovic and Francisco Conceição were tasked with operating between the lines as inside forwards behind Nick Woltemade.
The opening 10 minutes unfolded at a walking pace. Celta Vigo were content to drop into a disciplined mid-to-low block, inviting Juventus to dominate 71% of the early possession without offering any real threat. The hosts’ only foray forward yielded a routine, harmless shot comfortably handled by Vicario, as both sides spent the opening exchange feeling each other out.
However, that passive possession rapidly backfired in the 18th minute. Celta sliced through Juve’s defense with ruthless efficiency, stringing together two slick passes inside the box to shift the ball right across the face of goal. The Bianconeri backline was caught flat-footed and completely stagnant, allowing Celta an unmarked strike to break the deadlock and make it 1-0.
Juve struggled to muster a meaningful response against Celta’s deep defense and rapid counter-attacks. Their lone moment of promise before the half-hour mark came when a ball was threaded toward Koopmeiners in space inside the box; however, the pass was hit with far too much heat, skittering past the midfielder and harmlessly out of reach. By the time the halftime whistle blew, the bad vibes were palpable — Juve had been beaten cleanly just once, but against a team thriving in a low block, that single defensive nap looked like it might settle the tie.
Spalletti clearly lit a fire under his side at the interval, as Juventus emerged for the second half with a completely transformed intensity. Pinned inside their own half, Celta found themselves under siege as the Bianconeri applied suffocating, continuous pressure in the final third through the opening ten minutes after the restart.
That unrelenting persistence forced a catastrophic defensive blunder in the 58th minute. A long ball floated over the top toward Woltemade initially looked overhit, but Marcos Alonso made the ill-advised decision to try to chest the ball down inside his own area rather than clearing his lines. Woltemade pounced on the mistake instantly, snatching the ball off the defender’s chest before it even hit the turf and firing home to bring Juve back level at 1-1.
With momentum fully on their side, Spalletti turned to his bench in the 64th minute to inject fresh legs into the attack, bringing on Nico González for Conceição and Randal Kolo Muani for Alajbegovic. Six minutes later, the manager moved to fortify the backline for the stretch run — bringing on Jhon Lucumí for Kelly and Gleison Bremer for Gatti to lock down the central defense.
Juve nearly stole the lead in the 88th minute through a moment of pure individual magic. González collected the ball at the top of the box, drove hard to his right, and stopped on a dime — sending his marker sliding hopelessly past him. The Argentine opened his body to curl a gorgeous strike toward the far corner, but the ball drifted agonizingly wide by a matter of centimeters.
Just when Celta thought they had survived the onslaught, Juventus delivered the killer blow in the 92nd minute. Cambiaso picked his spot on the left flank and whipped a picture-perfect cross into the heart of the penalty area. Kolo Muani rose highest among the crowd, driving a clinical header past the keeper to seal a dramatic 2-1 victory in the dying seconds.
From a sluggish, stagnant first half to a relentless second-half siege, Spalletti’s men showed serious backbone to turn a potential away defeat into a statement comeback win.
