Juventus were defeated 2-0 by a strong Borussia Dortmund in a pre-season friendly at the AFG Arena in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
The Bianconeri were out played for most of the game as Dortmund assumed control from the off. Dortmund’s first goal came from a well-worked counter-attack slotted in by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang which was followed by a sensational individual goal by the talented Marco Reus for the second.
The game began with both sides immediately going at each other’s throats. Gianluigi Buffon demonstrated why he is the Juventus and Italy No.1 by making a double save from a swerving Reus free kick, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan returning a menacing shot as the ball fell to him outside the box after the initial parry.
Shortly after, Reus narrowly missed the post after beating Gianluigi Buffon from a dangerous position on the right hand side of the box. Mario Mandzukic responded with an offside goal after the Bianconeri produced some effective play along the left flank, with Patrice Evra and Paul Pogba greatly involved.
As the game continued, control of the game shifted in favour of Thomas Tuchel’s side who saw Buffon, yet again, deny their chance to taking the lead after a Aubameyang header was tipped over the bar from close range.
Juventus lost more control as a sloppy pass from the back was intercepted which allowed Reus to send Kevin Kampl into the box who’s shot was saved again by Buffon.
Juventus gained some momentum after two new signing linked up after Paulo Dybala’s free kick was attacked by Mandzukic to be well-saved and tipped over the bar.
Finally, Juventus cracked in the fortieth minute with a sloppy attack transforming into a Dortmund counter-attack.
The impressive Mkhitaryan ran onto a lobbed through ball to find a free Aubameyang on the edge of the box, who latched onto the lay off and decisively beat Buffon, to send the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal.
The second half produced a much slower tempo of play with Dortmund totally asserting their dominance in the game.
The game restarted with Norberto Murara Neto coming on to prove why he merited a move up to Turin with a one on one save against an Aubameyang effort. The slower second half continued with Dortmund keeping the ball in the Juventus half with comfort and pulling off some minor attempts on goal.
Dortmund’s dominance climaxed in the sixty third minute as Marco Reus showcased his phenomenal individual talent by storming up the field with the ball from the halfway line. The magnificent German nutmegged Leonardo Bonucci before slotting past a helpless Neto from 10 yards.
The final quarter of the game continued with Dortmund maintaining control with ease and stringing together a few soft attempts on goal. One of which placed Aubameyang, once again, one on one with Neto who made another marvellous save again proving his worth to the Italian champions.
Juventus’ miserable second half performance was symbolised by Dybala’s careless half-hearted effort from outside the box, which flew straight into the stands.
Following this effort, the final whistle blew shortly after, which brought an end to a dire Juventus performance leaving Massimiliano Allegri aware of the extent of work he has ahead of him to form a side strong enough to continue the Bianconeri’s brilliant performance last year.
