Dream debut for Vlahovic but Juventus held

VILLARREAL, Spain－Dusan Vlahovic needed just 31 seconds to show Europe why Juventus chose him to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Serbia striker had a dream debut in the Champions League on Tuesday, scoring a superb goal after his first contact with the ball in a 1-1 draw at Villarreal.

His goal had the elements of strikes that only players of Ronaldo's caliber can pull off, combining power, a sense of the moment and that extra dose of confidence that means no scoring chance, however slim, should go to waste.

After using his chest to control a long pass from Danilo, the 22-year-old striker did not hesitate to immediately take on centerback pair Pau Torres and Raul Albiol. He used one touch to prepare his shot taken with his weaker right foot while he spun toward the goal. The low effort grazed the foot of a defender before squirting in at an angle past goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.

It was his second goal with Juventus since the team secured his 70 million euro ($80 million) transfer from Fiorentina near the end of the January transfer window to find a top scorer after Ronaldo's exit five months before in the offseason.

"It was huge to score on my debut. It was very emotional," Vlahovic said. "However, I cannot be 100 percent satisfied because we have not won the game."

Dani Parejo leveled for Villarreal in the 66th minute, leaving the tie evenly poised for the decider in Italy with the away-goal rule scrapped this season.

"He's young, this is his first Champions League match," said Juve's Alvaro Morata. "Imagine the career he has ahead of him."

Juventus coach Max Allegri had tried to reduce expectations on Monday by insisting the striker would have to adapt psychologically and technically to the intensity of the Champions League－but Vlahovic needed less than a minute to find his feet.

It was his second goal in five appearances for Juve after he scored 12 minutes into his debut against Verona earlier this month, following a blistering 25 goals in 31 games for Fiorentina.

"When you play against this type of team, with top players, you can't give them even half an inch. It was a great goal," said Parejo.

Juventus will be favorite to finish the job at home next month but a well-organized and disciplined Villarreal, which won the Europa League last season, showed enough to suggest an upset is far from impossible.

After Vlahovic's opener, Villarreal tried to respond through its speed on the flanks. Alfonso Pedraza stole the ball and sped from the left side of the box before he laid off for Giovani Lo Celso, only for his scuffed attempt to find the top of the left post in the 13th.

Vlahovic also impressed with his ability to pull down more long balls for his teammates in the first half. But Parejo's 66th-minute equalizer came just after Albiol made it his mission to start taking away that outlet.

Following Albiol's challenge to win a ball from Juve's new striker, the Italian team betrayed its defensive pedigree when it gave former Watford man Etienne Capoue time to pick out a run forward by fellow midfielder Parejo. Juve's backline compounded that mistake by leaving Parejo free of a marker as he fired low to make it 1-1.

"When they score in the first minute, it ruins your game plan. But even so, we knew how to hang in there and go for the match," Parejo said.

"To draw 1-1 after starting from behind, I am satisfied with how we played and the chances we created against a giant like Juventus."

Vlahovic almost conjured up the winner with five minutes remaining with a powerful shot that Rulli did well to stop.

United States midfielder Weston McKennie had to be substituted for Juventus in the 80th after he received a hard tackle into his lower left leg by substitute Pervis Estupinan.

In London, defending champion Chelsea got goals from Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz to beat Lille 2-0.

Juventus is trying to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2018-19 after losing in the last 16 in the past two seasons.

Unai Emery has Villarreal, last season's Europa League champion, back in the knockout rounds of Europe's elite club competition for the first time in 13 years.

The Spanish team will hope to have striker Gerard Moreno, now injured, back for the second leg in Turin on March 16.

Agencies