Second-half thriller: Black & Yellows miss out on victory over Juventus in stoppage time | OneFootball

The 41,497 spectators at the sold-out Juventus Stadium made for an electric atmosphere but initially saw a match in which highlights were few and far between and the hosts allowed the visitors to have the ball. Things really took off in the second period. After Beier had struck the post (51), Adeyemi had opened the scoring in the 52nd minute and Guirassy had spurned a good chance to extend the lead (56), Yildiz levelled the scores at 1-1 in the 63rd minute. Nmecha made it 2-1 only 85 seconds later (65), before Vlahovic hit back again (67). Couto put Dortmund ahead for the third time on the night in the 74th minute. Bensebaini converted a penalty awarded for handball in the 86th minute to make it 4-2. But in stoppage time, Juventus restored parity at 4-4 thanks to goals from Vlahovic (90+4) and Kelly (90+6).

The scenario:    Both teams had finished last season in fourth place in their respective national leagues. Juve had started the new season with three victories. BVB had lost only one of their previous seven Champions League matches, while Juventus had won just two of their previous eight.

Personnel matters:    There was only one change compared to the 2-0 away victory in Heidenheim last Saturday: Sabitzer replaced Groß, who had travelled later to join the squad after recovering from an infection and started on the bench alongside fellow returnee Brandt.

Tactics:    Both teams operated in a 3-4-3 formation and expanded their defensive lines to a back five when necessary. Openda played as the lone striker for the home team, leaving fellow forward David (10 goals in 19 UCL games for Lille) to play in the right half-space behind him. Borussia pushed forward courageously and frequently shifted the play into the Juventus half. Like in Heidenheim, Guirassy repeatedly dropped back behind the two wing forwards to collect and distribute the ball. Juventus waited for their opponents to make mistakes and for opportunities to counter-attack...

The match & analysis:...the first of which came early on in the fourth minute when Thuram was allowed too much space in front of the box and tested Kobel with a shot from 22 metres. Borussia had to take an extremely focused approach and avoid misplaced passes in their build-up play. Because that was what Juventus, who were sitting back cautiously, were looking for. Going forward, the players were unable to support each other in a way that allowed them to convert their marginal superiority into pressure situations.

Juventus took the initiative for several minutes around the half-hour mark, which led to Borussia's first counter-attacking opportunity. But with the goal beckoning, Guirassy was unable to convert Adeyemi's pass in the 37th minute. From then on, the team from Turin prioritised safety and a deeper block.

Beier's perseverant follow-up at the beginning of the second period almost brought about the opening goal for Dortmund. Goalkeeper Di Gregorio misjudged a long ball from Ryerson and thought it was heading out of play. But Beier stuck at it, got to the ball on the byline and touched it against the upright from a tight angle (51). A minute later, Nmecha won back possession of the ball and drove the play forward before passing to Guirassy. The striker in turn fed the ball to Adeyemi 20 metres from goal, who fired a left-footed shot powerfully – at 119 km/h – into the bottom-right corner from the edge of the penalty area (52). Guirassy almost doubled the advantage to 2-0 four minutes later. After Adeyemi's outside-of-the-foot pass, the ball fell to Guirassy eight metres from goal and he got the better of McKennie before being thwarted by Di Gregorio, who had made himself big. Instead, Yildiz equalised at 1-1 via a stunning curler from 16 metres out (63).

It then became hectic, with the goals coming every two minutes. First Adeyemi had the vision on the edge of the penalty area to cut the ball back to Nmecha, whose placed shot with his instep from 19 metres out sailed into the net at chest height to make the score 2-1 (65). But the restored lead lasted only 150 seconds. Substitute Vlahovic latched onto Yildiz's pass from the centre-circle and then proved unstoppable as he fired home to make it 1-1. It was a thriller. Couto lost the ball to Thuram in an attacking challenge but immediately followed up and won it back thanks to the support of Sabitzer, then immediately switched the play and targeted the near corner. Di Gregorio was taken by surprise by the shot and was beaten. With a quarter of an hour remaining, BVB were back in front for the third time on the night.

The fourth goal was initiated by Adeyemi seven minutes from time via a long ball to substitute Brandt, but his first touch was not optimal. The ball then made its way via Bellingham to Guirassy, whose shot was blocked by the arm of Kelly. The resultant spot-kick was taken by Bensebaini, who converted it coolly with a low shot into the left corner (86). But that was not to be the end of the action. Vlahovic reduced the deficit to 4-3 with the help of the inside of the upright in the fourth of the six minutes of stoppage time. Then the goalscorer picked up the ball on the right and crossed it into the danger zone, where Kelly met it with a header to level at 4-4 (90+6).

Outlook:   BVB will welcome Athletic Bilbao to SIGNAL IDUNA PARK on Matchday 2. There will be two Bundesliga matches prior to that game on 1 October. At home to VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday (19:30 CEST) and away in Mainz next Saturday.Boris Rupert

Teams & goals

UEFA Champions League Matchday 1 Tuesday 16 September 2025, 21:00 CESTJUVENTUS TURIN 4-4 (0-0) BORUSSIA DORTMUND

Juventus Turin: Di Gregorio – Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly – McKennie (Joao Mario, 59), Thuram, Koopmeiners (Locatelli, 69), Cambiaso – David (Vlahovic, 59), Yildiz (Zhegrova, 87) – Openda (Adzic, 69)Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Ryerson, Anton, Bensebaini – Couto, Sabitzer, Nmecha (Brandt, 71), Svensson – Adeyemi, Beier (Bellingham, 71) – Guirassy (Groß, 90+2)Substitutes: Perin, Pinsoglio; Cabal, Gatti, Rugani, Kostic, Conceicao – Meyer, Ostrzinski; Kabar, Mane, Chukwuemeka, Campbell Goals: 0-1 Adeyemi (Guirassy, 52), 1-1 Yildiz (Joao Mario, 63), 1-2 Nmecha (Adeyemi, 65), 2-2 Vlahovic (Yildiz, 67), 2-3 Couto (Sabitzer, 74), 2-4 Bensebaini (penalty for handball by Kelly, 86), 3-4 Vlahovic (90+4, Kalulu), 4-4 Kelly (90+6, Vlahovic)Corners: 3-2 (3-2 at half-time), chance ratio: 7-6 (1-0)Referee: Letexier (France), yellow card: – AntonAttendance: 41,507 (sold-out), weather: dry, 21 degrees