VILLARREAL, Feb 23: 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 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 center-back pair Pau Torres and Raúl 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 Gerónimo Rulli.
It was his second goal with Juventus since the team secured his 70 million euro 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.
Dani Parejo leveled for Villarreal in the 66th minute, leaving the playoff poised for the decider in Italy with the away-goal rule scrapped this season.
After Vlahovic’s opener, Villarreal tied 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 Juventus’ new striker, the Italian team betrayed its defensive pedigree when it gave Etienne Capoue time to pick out a run forward by fellow midfielder Parejo. Juventus’ backline compounded that mistake by leaving Parejo free of a marker as he fired low to make it 1-1. (AP)
